Reading the Unknown - The Maze Runner
by xxBritishBookwormxx
Summary: Thomas & Co read the book fic with a twist. 9 students and 2 teachers are sent from Glade High into a place which in respect is their alternate reality. How will the students cope when they meet their counterparts and read a book on the teens lives in The Glade? And how much are their lives actually alike despite being from two different worlds? READING THE BOOK! (Beta: Rennwolf)
1. Chapter 1

_**Pairings: Eventual Newt/Alby, Thomas/Teresa (Minor), Thomas/Brenda**_

_**Disclaimer: I am going to say this now! I do not own anything! I am not James Dashner and I am making no profit from this fic, I am simply doing this for the entertainment for the audience.**_

**_ANNOUNCEMENT: THIS STORY NOW HAS A BETA! MAY I INTRODUCE THE AMAZING RENNWOLF! AN AMAZING PERSON WHO IS NOT ONLY HELPING ME WITH MY GRAMMAR BUT ALSO HELPING 'AMERICANISING' THE GLADERS AND OTHER VARIOUS WORDS!_**

_**Warnings: As you have seen this is an T rated fic, there wont be a lot of swearing in this fic except for the made up language of the book. This story is rated T because it is a slash (however minor) and the frequent talk about sex (you can blame Minho for that). Also, if you have read the books you will know that there is some triggering's for suicide, though that wont be the biggest thing there will also be a bit of torture (not very badly) in this (You can blame rat man for that, the Slint head.)**_

_**People from glade high will have their names in normal writing whilst the people from the glader universe will have their names in italics!**_

* * *

Glade high was not a normal school, it was a school made by Satan himself for evil teachers to educate boys and girls with 'super' intelligence.

However, the school could have never prepared Thomas Hunter for this.

It was an average Tuesday morning, they were all standing in straight lines in the hall when his, and multiple other boys and a few girl's, lives changed forever.

Principle Paige came in like always for morning briefing, only this time her normal kind smile was not to be seen on her face. In contrast her face was set into a grim line.

"Children of Glade High I am here to inform you that some students and teachers will not be spending the next few weeks here, instead they will be going on an… adventure" the last words seemed forced and some of the students turned confused glances at their friends.

"Wooooo yeah" someone cheered from the back and Thomas couldn't hide his smirk as he knew who it was already. Minho.

"Thank you Minho that will be enough" Ava Paige said strictly making the hall chuckle.

"You will be going on an adventure into finding about an alternate reality" Paige said gravely and most of the younger years turned to glance scared at each other. "I have a list here of the students and teachers who will be going on this journey to read about what will happen in this alternate reality. Though the letter sent to me warns me to tell you that not everything that happens in this book will may not happen actually to you in this time, so you do not need to fear" She held up a piece of paper and now even the teachers looked intrigued as to who will be on it.

"When the principle calls your name you will come to the front" Professor Janson (their science teacher and Vice Principal) instructed and Thomas had to bite down a grimace from just looking at the man's ratty face, he really did give him the creeps.

"Chuck Harries – First year" Ava Paige called out.

Thomas watched intrigued as the small eleven year old walked timidly up to the front of the room, not getting too close to rat man.

"Brenda Burke – Fifth Year. Teresa Agnes – Fourth Year" Two girls walked to the front, both of their faces frowning in confusion, they too stayed clear from Janson who was starting to go red with anger.

"Minho Far – Seventh year."

"What the shuck is going on here?" Minho grunted bewildered whilst making his way up to the front.

"Alby Jackson – Seventh year. Gally Wagner – Sixth Year" The whole room burst out into laughter at the boy's name and even Thomas couldn't help but smirking as Gally walked to the front, because Thomas was right by the isle he was able to hear the boy groan "I'm going to kill my mother for calling me Gally when she fully well knew my last name was Wagner."

"Newton Rodgers – Sixth Year" Thomas observed as his friend Newt limped up to the front. No one knew what exactly Newt did to gain the limp, but what they did know was that the tall boy didn't want to talk about it whenever the topic came up he would just laugh it off. Thomas smiled warmly when the boy finally got to the front, his fair hand getting taken into Alby's dark one in an almost reassurance. Thomas couldn't wait for the day those two would just admit their feelings for each other.

Paige listed off the last few names of "Aris Jones – Fourth Year. Jorge Kornecki – Teacher."

The schools literally only nice teacher, their PE teacher looked surprised when his name got mentioned going over to stand by Brenda who everyone knows who he legally adopted seven years ago before she even arrived at glade high. Jorge adopted her despite only being twenty five at the time, he was practically a young adult adopting a child.

"Adrian Janson"

"Rat man" Minho coughed into his hand and the hall once again erupted into laughter as the said rat man turned an ugly shade of puce.

"And lastly Thomas Hunter – Fifth Year" All time seemed to stop when Thomas heard his name being called out. He slowly made his way to the front, sharing a confused look with Brenda who just shrugged, she too not having an idea what in hell was going on. "If you would all like to follow me, I will now be taking you to your destination."

The eleven all obediently followed the headmistress all in their own way. Most of them like Teresa, Thomas and Jorge all looked confused as they shifted down the halls. Some people like Minho and Newt looked positively calm, but then again Newt was always calm and Minho was always had a carefree smirk on his face as he swaggered down the halls… Except when he's angry that's a whole different story. Chuck looked like he was ready to shoot klunk all over the place, Alby seemed like he was angry along with Rat Man. Lastly, Brenda, Gally and Aris just looked as casual as always stepping down the hall as if it was like any other normal day.

Finally, after many turns and bumps they were directed into a small class room which was only the totally opposite side of the school. Relatively empty except for what usually was in the class rooms everyone looked round confused. Thomas could feel anger start to bubble inside of him, he hated being in the unknown.

"Now listen carefully, as the letter said, you are all about to go through a Flat Tran" Ava explained in a matter of fact tone.

"How the hell do we know that this Klunk isn't going to lead us Shanks to our shucking death?" Minho yelled hotly, his face starting to turn scarlet.

"Is this enough proof?" A voice said from behind them making all the teenagers and teachers jump, except Headmistress Paige.

Turning around, Thomas felt his jaw drop in shock; there, clear as day, standing curtly in front of them was another Ava Paige.

Chuck looked between the two principle's and looked as though he was about to faint as his face went from pale to green in a matter of seconds.

"I am Ava Paige from a different dimension, furthermore from this time we are going into the future" _Ava Paige _explained and Thomas felt as though he was going to be sick with shock. Without any more explanation the new woman went to the front of the classroom, getting out a remote she pointed it directly at the wall.

Nothing happened for a second, then all of a sudden a gap was made in the wall making Newt shout "BLOODY HELL" at the top of his voice in fright.

"This is a Flat Tran, you will be going through this and into the glade where you too will also meet your counterparts. Good luck and remember not everything will be as it seems, some things may happen to you and some may not… Some things may have already happened" Thomas swore she looked over at Newt as she said this but he took no notice instead trying to get as far away from the cloudy door in the wall as possible.

A minute went by and no one went through.

With an agitated growl Minho shouted "Shuck this I'm just going through" taking off at a run into the flat Tran. After no screaming was heard from the other side of the door it brought confidence into everybody else with Newt limping his way forward next into the Flat Tran.

One by one everyone went through until it was just Thomas and the two Ava Paige's left.

"Thomas" _Paige _said suddenly making Thomas stop in his tracks on the way to the door. "'it is of the up most importance that you don't forget that not everything that happens there will happen here, just as some things to a certain aspect here will never happen in my world." With that last warning she nodded her head for him to go through the door.

The Flat Tran was cold against his skin, making him feel as though he had just walked outside on a windy day. And it was dark… Very dark.

Slowly, light started to illuminate from this seemingly never ending tunnel and rays of sunshine came blazing onto his face.

Shading his eyes he looked round the place he was now in, it was a sort of dome, about the size of a few football pitches and was covered totally in vegetation on the ground.

"Where am I?" he muttered to himself not expecting a reply.

"You, Tommy, are at the Glade" a distinct English accent told him and Thomas smirked knowing it was Newt. Spinning round on the spot, Thomas was taken aback by what he saw.

It was Newt, but it wasn't the Newt he knew. This one seemed to have a dress sense more of plain short sleeved T shirt and jeans whereas the Newt he knew he had never seen without a 80's band top on and a hoody.

Looking round wide eyed he noticed that all these boys were wearing more or less the same things, only in different colours. Scanning the crowd he almost fainted when he spotted… him.

He was the same height, had the same green eyes, same brown hair… It was him. And this him looked just a dumbfounded he expected he looked.

"Hey shuck face get over here" Minho yelled a smirk on his face from behind the crowed. He knew this was the Minho he knew because he was wearing the bandana round his left wrist as a fashion statement.

Thomas raced to his friend, spotting that all his friends had now sat in a semi-circle on the floor with mats underneath them, even the teachers were sat on the floor.

"Well It's nice of you to join us, we were told by the creators what you've been told so blaady blaady bla we're meant to read these shucking books" _Alby _said seriously, glaring down at the people and motioning towards the books that were in the centre of this medium sized circle. There were twenty two people there no more no less. There were four new people who the gladers had never met, but were part of their world: _Brenda, Jorge, Janson and Aris._

The gladers all took their places opposite making this a now full circle.

"Which Shank wants to read first?" _Minho _asked clapping his hands together and looking around the group as if they were children making Brenda snort.

"Even in a different world he's bloody sarcastic" Newt shook his head fondly.

"I will" Jorge volunteered not looking at his counterpart who was eyeing him suspiciously. He too was sat next to their version of Brenda. Coughing a little he stated "The Maze Runner."

"We can all read the title you know" Minho huffed with a smirk on his face making Jorge look up over the book.

"I haven't even started reading this yet and you're already interrupting me. If you don't stop I won't hesitate to put you in detention when we get back" Jorge threatened and Minho put his hands up in a dramatic surrender making all the gladers and the High school gladers laugh.

**He began his new life standing up, surrounded by cold darkness and stale, dusty air.**

"That doesn't sound like a nice place to begin a new life" Teresa whispered wondering where the book was going on about.

All the gladers shuddered knowing that the book was referring to the Box, the transportation which ruined their lives by taking them into this hell hole.

**Metal ground against metal; a lurching shudder shook the floor beneath him. He fell down at the sudden movement and shuffled backward on his hands and feet,**

"Anyone want to make a bet that this is going to be in Thomas' point of view" _Chuck _smirked knowing how dramatic the older boy could be.

Everyone nodded looking over at the two Thomas' who were blushing madly with embarrassment.

**drops of sweat beading on his forehead despite the cool air. His back struck a hard metal wall; he slid along it until he hit the corner of the room. Sinking to the floor, he pulled his legs up tight against his body, hoping his eyes would soon adjust to the darkness.**

"Yep that is definitely green bean" _Newt _sniggered and both Thomas' sent him a betrayed look.

"You're meant to be my friend"_ Thomas_ yelled pointing an accusing finger at _Newt _dramatically.

"Yes I am but oh well" The blonde stuck his tongue out.

"Holy Klunk I feel so betrayed" Thomas exasperated pretending to faint on the ground.

"How the hell can you say you're not melodramatic" Brenda snorted in confusion, Thomas was always like this making a big deal out of everything. That's why he would make such a good narrator on a book.

**With another jolt, the room jerked upward like an old lift in a mine shaft.**

Once again the gladers shivered.

**Harsh sounds of chains and pulleys, like the workings of an ancient steel factory, echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls with a hollow, tinny whine. The lightless elevator**

"Lift" Newt grumbled half-heartedly earning a push from Alby who watched as the boy sprawled to the floor.

Everyone looked on in amusement as Newt yelped. Though they were already sat down on the floor, the force of the push had sent Newt down, however Newt had a grip on Alby's shirt pulling the dark skinned boy on top of him.

They stayed like that for a moment both looking into each other's eyes, Newts face was bright red and both were unaware of the others watching them and the other _Newt _sending _Alby _a longing look.

"Wow there's sexual tension between Newt and Alby even in your world" _Minho _laughed along with everyone else causing Newt to blush even more and for Alby to push himself off the taller boy. Unfortunately _Minho_ was sat right next to _Alby _and the black boy swiftly punched the Asian boy in the face leaving him too sprawling on the floor.

"Ouch why did you shucking do that?" _Minho _growled in frustration getting up onto his feet and getting ready to attack _Alby._

"SIT DOWN" _Rat man _roared making everyone go silent though people couldn't hide their smirks. All it took was for Gally to start sniggering out his nose and everyone erupted into a mirthful laughter.

Both Janson's were both shaking with anger. The science teacher Janson was fuming, if he was to use corporal punishment on the students he would have hell to pay with their parents. However, he then suddenly grinned evilly looking at one student he could hurt. An orphan who is under the schools authority and had no parents, at least not in the same country. The student that if he was to hurt it would also send all the other students into a rage filled mob but he knew they would do nothing to hurt him if he threatened this student even more.

"Okay, Okay settle down" _Jorge _instructed with a chuckle nodding for his counterpart to continue with the story.

**swayed back and forth as it ascended, turning the boy's stomach sour with nausea; a smell like burnt oil invaded his senses,**

Both Brenda's wrinkled their noses in disgust.

**making him feel worse. He wanted to cry, but no tears came; he could only sit there, alone, waiting. **

Jorge smirked at the next line, secretly laughing his head off on the inside.

_**My name is Thomas**_**, he thought. **

"I KNEW IT!" _Chuck _roared happily and started doing his own little victory dance.

"Oh shut up Chuck" _Thomas _laughed pulling his younger friend down onto the floor again so that he was sprawled like a star fish onto his back.

**That … that was the only thing he could remember about his life.**

"That must be awful, to only know your name" Aris shuddered at the thought, horrified at the thought of not being able to remember his girlfriend Rachael and his family.

"Well you do and so far there is no sign we're going to get our memories back" _Aris _explained almost bitterly, almost knowing that it wasn't the others fault that they are from a different universe.

**He didn't understand how this could be possible. His mind functioned without flaw, trying to calculate his surroundings and predicament. Knowledge flooded his thoughts, facts and images, memories and details of the world and how it works.**

"We don't go to a school for extreme intellectuals for nothing you know" Gally laughed making Thomas roll his eyes good naturedly.

_Gally _and _Thomas _looked confusedly at each other, in their world the two absolutely hated each other but in theirs they seem to get along. Not sure if you would call them friends exactly but they definitely got along all right.

**He pictured snow on trees, running down a leaf-strewn road, eating a hamburger, the moon casting a pale glow on a grassy meadow, swimming in a lake, a busy city square with hundreds of people bustling about their business. **

"Wow it took us a good hour before we were remembering stuff like that" _Alby _whistled obviously impressed.

**And yet he didn't know where he came from,**

"California, America" Thomas answered with a smirk.

**or how he'd gotten inside the dark lift, or who his parents were.**

"Marie and Patrick" Thomas answered yet again feeling sadness creep up into his heart as he said the latter name.

**He didn't even know his last name.**

"Hunter"

_Thomas _looked over at his counterpart, a happy smile on his face "Thomas Hunter… I like the sound of that."

**Images of people flashed across his mind, but there was no recognition, their faces replaced with haunted smears of colour.**

Brenda shivered sadly, thinking of her parents and going close to Jorge who held his book with one hand and placed his other arm over her shoulder, giving his adoptive daughter (though Brenda felt as though they had more of a very close Uncle and niece relationship rather than father and daughter) a reassuring squeeze of the shoulders.

**He couldn't think of one person he knew, or recall a single conversation. **

**The room continued its ascent, swaying; Thomas grew immune to the ceaseless rattling of the chains that pulled him upward. A long time passed.**

"Slint head you do know you're only on it for about half an hour" _Gally _said viciously causing the other Gally and Thomas to flinch back and look at each other in shock.

**Minutes stretched into hours, although it was impossible to know for sure because every second seemed an eternity. No. He was smarter than that.**

"That's good to hear" Minho snorted earning a playful jab in the ribs from Thomas.

**Trusting his instincts, he knew he'd been moving for roughly half an hour. **

"Oh" _Gally's _face started to tinge a bit red and he tried his best not to make eye contact with any of the Thomas'.

**Strangely enough, he felt his fear whisked away like a swarm of gnats caught in the wind, replaced by an intense curiosity.**

"Oh shuck, for Thomas that is not a good thing to be happening" Teresa groaned winking playfully at Thomas who blushed.

**He wanted to know where he was and what was happening. With a groan and then a clonk, the rising room halted; the sudden change jolted Thomas from his huddled position and threw him across the hard floor.**

"You always have been quite clumsy, hell of a fast runner but clumsy" Jorge laughed earning a groan from Thomas who put his face into his hands as everyone laughed at him.

**As he scrambled to his feet, he felt the room sway less and less until it finally stilled. Everything fell silent. **

Jorge didn't read for a second earning some quizzical glances. Then all of a sudden he roared at the top of his voice.

**A minute passed.**

Everyone jumped out of their seats, Chuck as to going so far that he farted with fright.

_Newt _had his hand on his chest breathing deeply "Why the hell did you do that, you almost gave me a shucking heart attack."

Jorge couldn't help but laugh, he loved to just tease his students and now the new gladers were also his victims.

**Two. He looked in every direction but saw only darkness; he felt along the walls again, searching for a way out. But there was nothing, only the cool metal.**

"I would be so claustrophobic in that" Teresa shivered as did the other _Teresa._

"Good job you were knocked out then" _Alby _muttered under his breath but the girl had heard.

"What?" Teresa looked over to the dark skinned boy her face marring a frown of confusion.

"What?"

"I said what first."

"No you didn't"

"Yes I did"

"What?"

Everyone was watching the two with smirks on their faces, Newt could tell that _Alby _was going to explode soon as he knew what his friends face went like when he was angry.

"Okay all of you just bloody shut the shuck up" _Newt _said calmly putting a hand on _Alby's _shoulder in order to calm the older boy down.

**He groaned in frustration; his echo amplified through the air, like the haunted moan of death.**

"Why the shuck would you use a simile like that?" _Aris _looked between both Thomas' in horror.

"He likes to be dramatic, you should hear his stories in English" Brenda sniggered and Thomas could feel that his face was once again getting hot.

**It faded, and silence returned. He screamed, called for help, pounded on the walls with his fists.**

"Melodramatic sod" Minho snorted with his own humour.

**Nothing. **

**Thomas backed into the corner once again, folded his arms and shivered, and the fear returned. He felt a worrying shudder in his chest, as if his heart wanted to escape, to flee his body.**

"Thomas you would make an amazing author you know that" Janson looked intrigued and Thomas once again had to bite down his look of disgust at the rat man.

"I would never do anything you want me to, you rat faced old coot" Thomas grumbled angrily earning sniggers of laughter from Minho and Chuck who were sat on either side of him.

"_**Someone … help … me!"**_** he screamed; each word ripped his throat raw.**

"Wow I wonder what would have happened if we had left you down there for any longer Tommy" _Newt _laughed slapping _Thomas _on the back.

"I think I would have probably klunked myself" Thomas smirked looking over to the glade version of his British friend.

**A loud clank rang out above him and he sucked in a startled breath as he looked up. A straight line of light appeared across the ceiling of the room, and Thomas watched as it expanded.**

"I bet you thought you had died and gone to Heaven or something" _Teresa _laughed, she had not had that experience of what it would have been like to be in the box awake as she was knocked out for the whole ride… fortunately.

**A heavy grating sound revealed double sliding doors being forced open. After so long in darkness, the light stabbed his eyes; he looked away, covering his face with both hands.**

"Awwwwwww you were so cute that day we found you" _Minho _teased _Thomas _pinching one of his cheeks in a childlike way only to have his hand slapped away by an irritated _Thomas. _

_Minho _couldn't help but bark with laughter.

**He heard noises above—voices—and fear squeezed his chest.**

"What you're afraid of us?" _Newt _said in a teasing tone putting his hand to his chest in a dramatic way.

"Nope not you Newt, I don't think anyone could be afraid of you… you're too nice" _Thomas _told the boy who smiled kindly back at him.

"Yeah not even in our world you could be afraid of Newt" Minho laughed as Newt blushed yet again.

Jorge looked at the book and smirked "How about we play a game? You read the next line and then you have to pass the book to who you think said it and then that person will say it" Jorge instructed to his students who all grinned excitedly. Turning to the gladers he then instructed "Then you need to tell us at the end if we got it right." Everyone nodded and Jorge smirked as he tossed the book to Alby.

"**Look at that shank."**

Alby shook his head, a small smile on his lips, yes that was something he would very much say. Looking at the next line he didn't need to throw the book because Newt was sat right next to him.

"**How old is he?" **

Newt just laughed as he read the next line throwing the book over to Gally.

"**Looks like a klunk in a T-shirt." **

Slapping his face with his hand, Gally reluctantly threw the book over to Minho who laughed before he read his line.

"**You're the klunk, shuck-face."**

The book was then passed right back to Alby.

"**Dude, it smells like feet down there!" **

Which was again passed to Newt.

"**Hope you enjoyed the one-way trip, Greenie."**

And lastly Newt threw the book to Chuck who failed to catch it on time earning a hit on the conk by a book. "Ouch" Chuck whimpered before saying the line.

"**Ain't no ticket back, bro." **

_Alby _smirked and once again nodded with an impressed look on his face "seven out of seven."

The book was then passed back to Jorge who continued to read out loud.

**Thomas was hit with a wave of confusion, blistered with panic. The voices were odd, tinged with echo; some of the words were completely foreign—others felt familiar.**

"Shank, Slint, Klunk, Greenie, Shuck" _Chuck _listed off the words he remembered Thomas had a hard time coming to grips with at the start when he first arrived a couple of days ago.

**He willed his eyes to adjust as he squinted toward the light and those speaking. At first he could see only shifting shadows, but they soon turned into the shapes of bodies—people bending over the hole in the ceiling, looking down at him, pointing.**

"Have you ever heard it's rude to point?" _Thomas _tried to defend himself no matter how late the comeback was earning a roll of eyes from all around.

**And then, as if the lens of a camera had sharpened its focus, the faces cleared. They were boys, all of them—some young, some older.**

"Oh my god, all boys locked up together… How can you even survive without it?" Minho looked scandalised.

"Survive without what?" _Teresa _asked looking at Minho as if he was stupid.

"Sex" the boy flailed his arms in the air trying to prove how big this point is. "I'm only seventeen and I've already banged about three quarters of the female population at Glade high school… those who are of age of course." Then he thought a bit more "I know all gay sex and all but if you're like us the only shucking gays in our school are Newt and Alby and Alby hasn't even gotten out of the closet yet."

All the boys in the glade began to blush furiously.

"Minho… Two words… Shut up" Alby growled his face red with boiling anger.

"Trust me when I say that when you live in the Glade, you have much higher priorities than getting laid" _Newt _explained, though did give a hint of a longing sideways glance towards _Alby _but the other boy didn't seem to notice neither did the dark skinned boys counterpart he was too busy looking ready to kill Minho.

"Wait you're only seventeen and you've managed to have sex with so many girls who are of age that only gave you what two years…" Aris looked as though he might just faint.

"Two years is quite a long time" _Gally smirked._

"Not at our school, it's like all girls have got padlocks on their knickers" Aris explained making all the boys burst out into laughter.

After the laughter died down Minho explained with a winning grin "I said they were of age… I never said I was."

And with that Jorge felt it was best to continue with the story before anything else got out of hand. That and if looks could kill Minho would be a pile of ashes on the floor by now at the seething look Janson was giving him.

**Thomas didn't know what he'd expected, but seeing those faces puzzled him. They were just teenagers. Kids. Some of his fear melted away, but not enough to calm his racing heart. **

"It's seeing my face, you thought I was your guardian angel" _Chuck _said in a girly tone slapping _Thomas _lightly on the cheek twice making the latter snort.

**Someone lowered a rope from above, the end of it tied into a big loop. Thomas hesitated, then stepped into it with his right foot and clutched the rope as he was yanked toward the sky. Hands reached down, lots of hands, grabbing him by his clothes, pulling him up.**

"You do know I can climb, I managed to pull fatty up the shucking wall" _Thomas _laughed nodding his head over to _Alby _who was now turning his angry glare on at _Thomas _though shivered as he thought about the changing he went through after the younger boy had successfully gotten him out of the maze.

"I am not fat" _Alby_ growled folding his arms.

"Dude, you weren't the one pulling you up a wall… you're a damn heavy shank" _Thomas_ said with wide grave eyes.

**The world seemed to spin, a swirling mist of faces and colour and light. A storm of emotions wrenched his gut, twisted and pulled; he wanted to scream, cry, throw up.**

"Ew I hope you didn't throw up on me" Gally said in disgust, his nose wrinkling slightly.

**The chorus of voices had grown silent, but someone spoke as they yanked him over** **the sharp edge of the dark box. And Thomas knew he'd never forget the words. **

"**Nice to meet ya, shank," the boy said. "Welcome to the Glade."**

"That's the end of the chapter" Jorge said putting the book down.

"I'll read next" _Brenda _opted taking the book from the counterpart of her uncle figure.

* * *

**_So what did you think? First chapter was really hard to do because there was hardly any dialogue coming from the book for people to banter about..._**

**_I do take constructive criticism, but only CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. People who just go on and tell me how bad this story is and give me nothing to help make it better will just be ignored... I am sorry but it really just gets on my nerves..._**

**_Okay so who do you think Janson was talking about when he was going on about a person he can get away with corporal punishment with? I have a poll on my profile and vote who you think it is :D_**

**_Please, please, please review!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer: Not James Dashner!_**

**_Chapter has been officially beta'd by the amazing Rennwolf_**

* * *

Holding her hands out ready to catch the book, _Brenda _smiled when the catch had been successful sending over at Chuck who flushed in embarrassment, he had never been good at catching books and her smirk was a bad reminder of what happened earlier.

Taking a deep breath, she began to read.

**The helping hands didn't stop swarming around him until Thomas stood up straight and had the dust brushed from his shirt and pants.**

"That seems a whole lot more welcoming than the day I arrived at Glade High" Thomas raised an eyebrow at Minho who chuckled sheepishly.

"Yeah sorry about that" Minho apologised sincerely still chuckling and running his fingers through his dark hair in a nervous habit.

"Why what happened?" _Gally _came closer intrigued as to what the counterpart of another person he hated in Glade had done to his enemy.

"Thomas may have accidentally become the victim of my latest prank set up for Rat Man" Minho said in an almost guilty manner.

All the gladers and students laughed whilst Janson sent a look of pure loathing towards his student, a look of evil crossed his face as he thought of the victim to his corporal punishment.

"Why, what was the prank?" _Teresa _giggled in mirth.

"Let's just say I wasn't able to get the blue out of my hair for two weeks after it" Thomas sent a playful glare at Minho who barked with laughter.

Teresa chuckled remembering arriving the next day as the newest new student and coming across a blue haired kid as she got lost… From that day on they have been best friends.

**Still dazzled by the light, he staggered a bit. He was consumed with curiosity but still felt too ill to look closely at his surroundings. **

"That was probably for the best shuck face considering you gonna find out your about to live in a maze full of maniac boys" _Alby _grunted wishing he had something to sit on rather than just their thin beds.

**His new companions said nothing as he swivelled his head around, trying to take it all in.**

"Just like day one of Glade High" Thomas sighed it seemed like years ago since he turned up at Glade high when in fact, it had actually been one year.

**As he rotated in a slow circle, the other kids snickered and stared; some reached out and poked him with a finger. **

"Have you ever heard poking is rude?" _Thomas _once again came back with a very late and lame comeback.

_Newt _shook his head in half-hearted disgust "Give it up you bloody Klunk head."

All _Thomas _could do was stick his tongue out at his friend who just rolled his eyes in fake annoyance.

**There had to be at least fifty of them, their clothes smudged and sweaty as if they'd been hard at work,**

"That's because we bloody were" _Chuck _said in shock, his voice going high pitched.

**all shapes and sizes and races, their hair of varying lengths. **

"With Newt's being the longest" _Minho _snorted leaning over and ruffling the boy's blonde shoulder length hair.

The Newt from Glade high smiled sadly taking a strand of his hair and playing with it between his fingers knowing it won't be long until he will have to cut it.

"What's wrong? You have that look" Alby asked in concern taking the taller boys hand into his and giving it a small squeeze.

Shaking his head, Newt just smiled, this time brighter though, making his whole face light up squeezing the hand back in reassurance.

Alby looked hesitant but nodded nevertheless, trusting his friend.

That's what broke Newt the most, the fact that his friends all of them trusted him so much, and then one day he will have to lay this bombshell on them.

**Thomas suddenly felt dizzy, his eyes flickering between the boys and the bizarre place in which he'd found himself.**

"You shucks made me really feel left out" _Thomas _said melodramatically pretending to wipe a fake tear from his eye.

This only caused everyone to either roll their eyes in half-hearted annoyance or to giggle.

**They stood in a vast courtyard several times the size of a football field,**

"Wait is that American Football or English Football?" Newt inquired earning another jab to the ribs by Alby.

"This is in the head of Thomas so I'd expect he was talking about American, considering he is American." Jorge explained in a matter of fact way.

"Good that" Newt said after a while. "They're around the same size anyway."

"Why are there two different footballs?" _Chuck _asked, sounding beyond confused.

"The Americans didn't realise that they spent most of the game with the ball in their han- oof" Newt started to explain but was cut off when Alby pushed him onto the floor, this time though he didn't go down with the other.

"You know that's not the reason why" Aris rolled his eyes at the British man who looked as though he was struggling to get up a bit, but Aris took no notice.

"But we don't actually know the reason why either, we sort of just went with it" Jorge answered in defeat.

"You are a shucking awful PE teacher you know that" Chuck said bravely but cowered back when Jorge turned to glare heatedly at him.

**surrounded by four enormous walls made of grey stone and covered in spots with thick ivy. **

Everyone from Glade high looked around to admire, in some sickening way, the scenery.

"I think I would go crazy in here" Brenda admitted with a shaky breath.

"Good thing you didn't get put into it then, thanks to moi muchahcho" _Jorge _spoke in a dramatic tone nudging _Brenda _who just rolled her eyes and nudged him back.

However, the girl couldn't help but be thankful for _Jorge. _If it wasn't for him she would probably be dead by now. The day he took her under his wing was the day _Brenda _could fully restart her new life.

**The walls had to be hundreds of feet high and formed a perfect square around them, each side split in the exact middle by an opening as tall as the walls themselves that, from what Thomas could see, led to passages and long corridors beyond.**

"The Maze" _Gally_ said hauntingly making all the students from Glade High turn to look at the walls which were currently closed despite it being the middle of the day.

"The creators said the maze won't open until we've read all the books, to which I'm thankful for… Don't really want to become shucking griever meat whilst reading about our lives" _Minho _shivered hating the grievers with all he could.

Thomas' eyes widened when he heard 'griever meat' "What the shuck are grievers?"

None of the gladers answered, knowing that sooner or later _Newt_ and _Alby_ will be giving _Thomas_ a tour in the book and that the students will find out then.

"**Look at the Greenbean," a scratchy voice said;**

"Gally" All the students and Gladers said out loud making the two Gally's blush.

"My voice is not scratchy" Gally tried to defend himself in his constant scratchy voice.

"It is" Chuck couldn't help but chuckle earning a half-hearted whack to the head from Gally.

However, the other _Gally _was slowly turning red from anger, "Why do you always shucking pick on me?"

"Because you bloody ask for it you shank" _Newt _explained eyes trained on _Gally _who was looking furiously back at him. "Try not acting so stuck up your own arse for once and talk to people."

_Gally _grumbled something under his breath but didn't fight back, knowing it was an argument he could never win.

**Thomas couldn't see who it came from. "Gonna break his shuck neck checkin' out the new digs." Several boys laughed.**

Thomas stuck his tongue out at Gally who just rolled his eyes.

"You know you're not a very nice person" Gally said to his counterpart causing _Minho _to burst into fits of laughter.

"Even your double ganger knows you're a shucking prude" _Minho _continued with his laughter.

_Gally _rolled his eyes in annoyance placing his knees up to his chest and resting his head on them, trying to disguise his look of forlorn.

"Minho shut up so I can continue" _Brenda _sighed tiredly though brightened up a bit as Minho immediately stopped laughing.

"**Shut your hole, Gally," a deeper voice responded.**

"Alby" All of them said once again some of them chuckling as to what he said to _Gally_.

**Thomas focused back in on the dozens of strangers around him. He knew he must look out of it—he felt like he'd been drugged.**

"Take drugs and you're immediately kicked out" Janson threatened causing Thomas to roll his eyes.

"We know, you tell us every day in your science lesson" Aris said in an almost bored tone.

Janson eyes once again flared up into hatred, he hated children with a passion.

**A tall kid with blond hair and a square jaw sniffed at him, his face devoid of expression.**

"Newt" Alby chuckled putting an arm over the boy's shoulder as he noticed him shivering. "You alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine just a bit cold" Newt reassured snuggling further into the warmth of Alby.

_Newt _looked at his counterpart suspiciously but decided not to say anything, instead looking at _Alby _and wishing he would make his shucking mind up about him.

**A short, pudgy boy fidgeted back and forth on his feet, looking up at Thomas with wide eyes.**

"Chuck"

**A thick, heavily muscled Asian kid folded his arms as he studied Thomas, his tight shirtsleeves rolled up to show off his biceps.**

"Shucking hell I'm hot" Minho said arrogantly flexing his biceps.

"I swear if your head was any bigger it would explode" Teresa told him her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Ew yeah and we will have Minho brain everywhere" Chuck joked.

"Don't worry dude I know where you're comin from" _Minho _told his counterpart who now had a smug smile on his face.

No one bothered to argue knowing both Minho's like to have the last say in things.

**A dark-skinned boy frowned—the same one who'd welcomed him.**

"How come you find it so hard to smile?" _Jorge _asked looking bewildered.

_Alby _shrugged he had never been much of a smiler, not even before the changing. Only really smiling when he is highly impressed by someone or… or when he is with _Newt. Alby _felt guilty, he had been treating _Newt _like klunk these past few days ever since he came out of the changing… he really needs to apologize for that.

**Countless others stared.**

"Don't even say it shank, we all know it's bloody rude" _Newt _chuckled as _Thomas _huffed knowing what he was going to say.

"**Where am I?" Thomas asked, surprised at hearing his voice for the first time in his salvageable memory. It didn't sound quite right— higher than he would've imagined.**

"Dude you have big feet no one will care about your shucking voice if you know what I mean" Minho wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"You really need to get your mind out of the gutter" Thomas moaned though laughed lightly at his friends antics.

"**Nowhere good." This came from the dark-skinned boy. "Just slim yourself nice and calm." **

"How reassuring" _Thomas _rolled his eyes at the leader of the Glade.

"I was just being truthful" _Alby _defended raising his hands up in false surrender.

_Newt _turned to look at him shocked "You've changed your tune" he accused.

"Maybe I've only just realised what a slint head I've been recently" _Alby _muttered so that only _Newt _could hear.

"**Which Keeper he gonna get?" someone shouted from the back of the crowd. **

"**I told ya, shuck-face," a shrill voice responded. "He's a klunk, so he'll be a Slopper—no doubt about it." The kid giggled like he'd just said the funniest thing in history.**

"Chuck, I'm going to tell you this now just because I like you… you're not funny" Thomas put a reassuring hand on the boys shoulder as the other boy gave a dramatic gasp.

**Thomas once again felt a pressing ache of confusion—hearing so many words and phrases that didn't make sense. Shank. Shuck. Keeper. Slopper. They popped out of the boys' mouths so naturally it seemed odd for him not to understand.**

"Just like the first day of school" Thomas sighed remembering that awful first day.

**It was as if his memory loss had stolen a chunk of his language—it was disorienting.**

"Well you don't want Alby's vocab, you wouldn't be getting very far in school" Brenda laughed remembering results day when everyone got their grades back… Yeah Alby didn't do too well in English.

Alby rolled his eyes and waved a hand to dismiss the laughter which had started to ring out "Okay, okay we can all agree that English is not my forte."

**Different emotions battled for dominance in his mind and heart. Confusion. Curiosity. Panic. Fear. But laced through it all was the dark feeling of utter hopelessness,**

"Don't worry we all had those feelings the day we arrived" _Newt _patted _Thomas _reassuringly on the arm.

**like the world had ended for him, had been wiped from his memory and replaced with something awful. He wanted to run and hide from these people. **

"Good luck with that, we've been here long enough we know it like the back of our hands" _Minho _snorted.

**The scratchy-voiced boy was talking. "—even do that much, bet my liver on it." Thomas still couldn't see his face.**

"You owe me your liver" _Thomas _placed his hand out to _Gally _who just grunted and slapped the hand away not liking to be wrong.

"**I said shut your holes!" the dark boy yelled. "Keep yapping and next break'll be cut in half!"**

"DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNN" Jorge yelled at the top of his voice, once again making everyone in the Glade jump including both the Jansons.

"I swear to God Kornecki, if you don't shut up this instant I will personally get Ava Paige to fire you" Rat Man roared his chest heaving quickly with his anger.

"Calm down Janson, we've talked about this use your inner voice" Jorge said using a sickening calm tone which made the students and the gladers try and stifle their laughter as Janson stammered.

"If you go Kornecki you won't be the only one going, you will have to bring her with you" Janson nodded his head over to Brenda who was glaring pure death at her science teacher.

Jorge's lips set into a grim line, but nodded reluctantly pulling Brenda ever closer to him in a protective manner.

**That must be their leader, Thomas realized.**

All the students laughed at the thought of having Alby as a leader.

Teresa, Thomas and Brenda even went to the extent of bowing melodramatically on their knees, so far down that their noses touched the grassed floor. Not caring if their jeans got muddy or grass stained all whilst telling the dark skinned boy that he was their "master" multiple times.

Alby just blushed and pushed them away with his feet making them all land on their arses.

"Ouch that hurt" Teresa complained, rubbing her back side whilst crawling over to where she was originally sat.

**Hating how everyone gawked at him, he concentrated on studying the place the boy had called the Glade. **

**The floor of the courtyard looked like it was made of huge stone blocks, many of them cracked and filled with long grasses and weeds.**

"I think we should tell the Track-hoes to start weeding this place as well… the place is becoming a shucking jungle" _Alby _said in thought, not knowing that everything is about to change drastically until he reads further on into the book.

**An odd, dilapidated wooden building near one of the corners of the square contrasted greatly with the grey stone.**

"Oh yeah, by the way, when night comes Homestead is where we will be sleeping… because there is not too many of us I think we could all get a bed… maybe a few people have to share" _Alby _said, pointing over to the wooden building mentioned in the book.

"Good that" Newt answered politely as no one else seemed to have bothered with an answer.

**A few trees surrounded it, their roots like gnarled hands digging into the rock floor for food.**

"Still think you should become an author" Brenda said, kindly at Thomas who just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Nodding over to the Jansons who were both glaring daggers at all the boys and girls.

**Another corner of the compound held gardens—from where he was standing Thomas recognized corn, tomato plants, fruit trees.**

And with that last line said _Minho _got up and ran at top speed over to the other side of the glade picking out 22 different types of fruit from various trees and putting them in a basket and ran straight back.

"Thought you all would want something to eat" _Minho _shrugged throwing a piece of fruit to everyone, making sure he through really hard at _Rat Man _who unfortunately caught it.

After catching a green apple, _Brenda _took a bite and then continued to read with the delicious fruit in her hand every once in a while taking a bite.

**Across the courtyard from there stood wooden pens holding sheep and pigs and cows. **

"Don't go and pick up twenty two of them" Thomas joked lightly with a chuckle.

"Oh shut it shuck face" _Minho _laughed sticking his tongue out at the student version of his friend.

**A large grove of trees filled the final corner; the closest ones looked crippled and close to dying. The sky overhead was cloudless and blue, but Thomas could see no sign of the sun despite the brightness of the day.**

"Wouldn't do good for the trials if we made it too hot" _Janson _chuckled so that only _Brenda _and _Jorge _could hear.

They both shivered, though they both worked with this guy didn't mean they actually liked him.

**The creeping shadows of the walls didn't reveal the time or direction—it could be early morning or late afternoon.**

_Janson _chuckled glad that the Glade was working so well.

**As he breathed in deeply, trying to settle his nerves, a mixture of smells bombarded him. Freshly turned dirt, manure,**

"Ew" Both Teresa's complained, wrinkling their noses in disgust not even daring to breathe in through their noses.

"The smell isn't that bad, there is other stuff to hide it… plus you've been breathing through your noses for like half an hour now and you've not complained yet" Chuck tried not to roll his eyes but he couldn't help it though.

Both Teresa's blushed and chuckled bashfully.

**pine, something rotten and something sweet. Somehow he knew that these were the smells of a farm.**

"It must be so odd to remember something, but not know how you remember it" Aris spoke looking at the gladers curiously.

"Oh trust me, it is" _Aris _replied to himself.

"Well he should trust you, you're the same person" Minho barked with laughter.

All the Aris' could do was roll their eyes at the Asian boy, not even bothering to counter back and start a whole new argument.

**Thomas looked back at his captors,**

"Captors?" _Newt _couldn't help but laugh; a laugh that seemed to brighten the whole place up.

_Thomas _blushed "I was disorientated okay" he tried to defend himself causing everyone to laugh even more.

**feeling awkward but desperate to ask questions. Captors, he thought. Then, Why did that word pop into my head?**

"Because you're a slint head" Chuck supplied.

**He scanned their faces, taking in each expression, judging them. One boy's eyes, flared**

_Janson _flinched at the word, as though afraid.

**with hatred, stopped him cold. He looked so angry, Thomas wouldn't have been surprised if the kid came at him with a knife.**

_Thomas _looked over at _Gally _who was now giving him that exact look.

**He had black hair, and when they made eye contact, the boy shook his head and turned away, walking toward a greasy iron pole with a wooden bench next to it.**

"What's up between you two, like Thomas and I are no peas in a pod but we're not out to kill each other" Gally asked bewildered but once again no one answered him fully.

"Just wait and see" _Gally _said still glaring at _Thomas._

**A multi-coloured flag hung limply at the top of the pole, no wind to reveal its pattern.**

"Why did we even put that up there again?" _Alby _asked curiously looking at _Newt._

"Because Minho thought it would be cool if we had our own crest, not taking it into his head that there was no wind so we couldn't see it" _Newt _explained with an irritated eye roll.

"It's still shucking awesome" _Minho _growled annoyed to himself.

**Shaken, Thomas stared at the boy's back until he turned and took a seat. Thomas quickly looked away. **

**Suddenly the leader of the group—perhaps he was seventeen—**

"18" Alby answered and the other _Alby _turned to look at him shocked.

**took a step forward. He wore normal clothes: black T-shirt, jeans, tennis shoes, a digital watch. For some reason the clothing here surprised Thomas; it seemed like everyone should be wearing something more menacing—like prison garb.**

"Dude you do have one good imagination for a bloody shank" Newt chuckled moving away from Alby, now feeling much warmer than he did before.

Thomas just chuckled "at this rate I actually might become an author… you shanks won't give me a break about it."

**The dark-skinned boy had short-cropped hair, his face clean shaven.**

'_Thank God' Newt _thought, he much preferred it when _Alby _had no beard.

**But other than the permanent scowl, there was nothing scary about him at all.**

_Alby _growled which, instead of making people flinch, just made them laugh.

"Sorry mate but you really aren't that scary" _Newt _chuckled bumping shoulders with the dark skinned boy.

"**It's a long story, shank," the boy said. "Piece by piece, you'll learn—I'll be takin' you on the Tour tomorrow.**

"God no if it was anything like the one my Alby gave me" Thomas shuddered at the thought.

**Till then . . . just don't break anything." He held a hand out. "Name's Alby." He waited, clearly wanting to shake hands. **

**Thomas refused.**

Jorge wanted to do a DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN moment but didn't, instead he just gave a heated glare towards Janson.

"Have you ever heard it's rude not to shake someone's hand when offering" _Alby _said loving how _Thomas _grumbled and huffed at being bit in the ass by his own comeback.

**Some instinct took over his actions and without saying anything he turned away from Alby and walked to a nearby tree, where he plopped down to sit with his back against the rough bark.**

"That was how we all found out you were a tough little klunk… You turned your back on Alby" _Chuck _smirked especially when _Alby _turned to give him an agitated look.

**Panic swelled inside him once again, almost too much to bear. But he took a deep breath and forced himself to try to accept the situation. **_**Just go with it,**_** he thought. **_**You won't figure out anything if you give in to fear**_**. **

"Fear is only human. You can't be brave without fear just remember that" Jorge explained, looking between all his students who just nodded sincerely as though Jorge had just quoted from the bible.

"**Then tell me," Thomas called out, struggling to keep his voice even. "Tell me the long story."**

"I hate green bean day" _Alby _groaned because almost all of them did this to him.

**Alby glanced at the friends closest to him, rolling his eyes, and Thomas studied the crowd again. His original estimate had been close—there were probably fifty to sixty of them, ranging from boys in their midteens to young adults like Alby,**

_Alby _raised an eyebrow at _Thomas _who just blushed and face palmed his forehead.

**who seemed to be one of the oldest. At that moment, Thomas realized with a sickening lurch that he had no idea how old he was.**

"Sixteen"

**His heart sank at the thought— he was so lost he didn't even know his own age. **

"**Seriously," he said, giving up on the show of courage. "Where am I?"**

"How do you think we felt?" _Minho _gestured to himself, _Alby _and _Newt. _"We had to figure all this out by ourselves… we were the first ones here."

_Thomas _had never really thought about it that way, they must have all have been so confused and they didn't even have anyone to ask.

"You should have seen poor Newt, he was the baby of us all… I think he thought we were going to go cannibal and eat him" _Minho _waved his arms around dramatically trying to show the seriousness of the subject.

All _Newt _could do was blush in embarrassment and shake his head…

**Alby walked over to him and sat down cross-legged; the crowd of boys followed and packed in behind. Heads popped up here and there, kids leaning in every direction to get a better look.**

"You guys really did make me feel like an animal in a zoo."

"**If you ain't scared," Alby said, "you ain't human. Act any different and I'd throw you off the Cliff because it'd mean you're a psycho." **

"You. Are. An. Idiot." _Jorge _shook his head in disbelief. They had just told a newbie that they would chuck him off a shucking cliff.

"**The Cliff?" Thomas asked, blood draining from his face.**

"This is why we never really normally let Alby break news to people" Brenda smirked at the boy who just grumbled something incoherent.

"**Shuck it," Alby said, rubbing his eyes. "Ain't no way to start these conversations, you get me? We don't kill shanks like you here, I promise. Just try and avoid being killed, survive, whatever."**

"Holy Klunk you a really bad at this" Chuck giggled clutching his tubby tummy as a stitch started to form.

**He paused, and Thomas realized his face must've whitened even more when he heard that last part. **

"Is that even humanly possible?" _Teresa _asked with a raised brow quizzically.

"Yes it can" Janson said and started to explain the whole science behind it.

Fifteen minutes later and the teacher thankfully had stopped talking, leaving eighteen teens very bored.

Grinning, _Brenda _could finally go on and continue with the chapter.

"**Man," Alby said, then ran his hands over his short hair as he let out a long sigh. "I ain't good at this—you're the first Greenbean since Nick was killed." **

All the Gladers groaned and started sending dirty looks at _Alby _who just rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"I say we select a new shucking leader" _Minho _suggested jokingly. "No wonder shanks are petrified if you go and tell em stuff like that in their first hour here."

**Thomas's eyes widened, and another boy stepped up and playfully slapped Alby across the head. "Wait for the bloody Tour, Alby," he said, his voice thick with an odd accent.**

"English accent" Newt grinned.

"Hmmmm I've always wondered what it was, I knew I was from a different place I just couldn't think where." _Newt _said genuinely confused.

"I love that accent" Aris admitted and all the students nodded in agreement causing Newt to blush.

"What part of England did you live in?" _Brenda _asked kindly.

"I was from Newcastle" Newt muttered with an almost sad smile.

"Why did you move to America?" _Jorge _asked curious.

Newts smile immediately faded into a stone cold expression, refusing to answer.

Jorge just shook his head at his counterpart, a sad expression on his face and nodded for _Brenda _to continue with the book.

"**Kid's gonna have a buggin' heart attack, nothin' even been heard yet." He bent down and extended his hand toward Thomas. "Name's Newt, Greenie, and we'd all be right cheery if ya'd forgive our klunk-for-brains new leader, here."**

All the teens burst out into laughter, trust _Newt _to say something like that.

Thomas couldn't help find it odd though, the Newt he knew seemed to be a whole lot more shy. Not painfully shy just not as out spoken as the _Newt _in the Glade.

Something wasn't too right here, especially how it was only in the last three months that the British boy had become so withdrawn and in a way ill looking with all the weight he had lost.

**Thomas reached out and shook the boy's hand—he seemed a lot nicer than Alby.**

"That's because he is… Well to be honest there is no one really nicer than Newt in the glade." _Minho _said thoughtfully and the others couldn't help but agree much to the embarrassment of both Newts.

**Newt was taller than Alby too, but looked to be a year or so younger.**

Newt smirked "seventeen in two days."

"Birthday celebrations then" _Minho _cheered excitedly.

**His hair was blond and cut long, cascading over his T-shirt.**

Newt ran a hand through his hair, glad that nothing was falling out yet.

**Veins stuck out of his muscled arms. **

"You make me sound hot" _Newt _laughed swatting _Thomas _playfully on the arm.

Alby frowned and looked over at his own Newt and wondered how the boy couldn't consider himself attractive… because he was.

Not that Alby ever thought about Newt like that, because they were just friends and nothing more… Always just friends? Alby didn't even like boys like that.

"**Pipe it, shuck-face," Alby grunted, pulling Newt down to sit next to him.**

"You really need to learn to start talking to me properly" _Newt _said his voice only had an inch of hurt on it, something that wouldn't be noticed behind the jokey voice. Expecting a comeback he was shocked when none came looking over at his friends with his big blue eyes.

"**At least he can understand half my words."**

Minho, Alby, Brenda and Jorge all laughed as Newt blushed with a small happy smile on his face.

"What's so funny?" _Aris _asked confused.

"Inside joke, when Newt first came to America his Geordie accent was so thick and he was speaking so fast that he would have to repeat everything three times before we actually understood him." Jorge explained, even he couldn't understand what his student was saying.

"Thankfully he's slowed down now so we can get the words… Either that or we have just got so used to his accent… we have been listening to it since he was fourteen" Alby laughed putting his arm around his friend lightly.

"It's a mix of both" Newt said rolling his eyes. Remembering back to the dark days when he used to have to always repeat everything, and some of the older boys would pick on him until he became friends with Minho and Alby that is from the year above. "The funniest time was when we" Newt motioned to everyone bar Chuck who was too young, "all watched an episode of Geordie Shore… Their faces they couldn't understand a shucking word of it."

Newt burst into laughter and now it was time for the other students to blush.

"You can't blame us they were speaking in code like what the hell do they think a parsnip is?" Aris was still confused by that term the Charlotte girl used about something on a guy called Gaz and Newt really couldn't help his laughter.

"If you don't know that now, you never will" Newt said putting on his natural thick Geordie accent to which most people including the gladers looked confused at. "Oh and you do know we're not all like that… they're just a few."

**There were a few scattered laughs, and then everyone gathered behind Alby and Newt, packing in even tighter, waiting to hear what they said. **

**Alby spread his arms out, palms up. "This place is called the Glade, all right? It's where we live, where we eat, where we sleep— we call ourselves the Gladers. That's all you—"**

"Oh how factual" Gally rolled his eyes making _Alby _growl in annoyance.

Gally looked hurt for a second, none of the gladers really seemed to like him though he didn't know why.

"**Who sent me here?" Thomas demanded, fear finally giving way to anger. "How'd—" **

**But Alby's hand shot out before he could finish, grabbing Thomas by the shirt as he leaned forward on his knees. "Get up, shank, get up!" Alby stood, pulling Thomas with him.**

"Dude you are never doing introductions again" _Newt _laughed nudging _Alby _playfully.

The dark man just grunted rudely in reply.

_Newt _groaned hating the other boys mood swings.

**Thomas finally got his feet under him, scared all over again. He backed against the tree, trying to get away from Alby, who stayed right in his face. **

"Rude" _Thomas _huffed though everyone seemed to be ignoring his rude statements now to the boys dismay.

"**No interruptions, boy!" Alby shouted. "Whacker, if we told you everything, you'd die on the spot, right after you klunked your pants. Baggers'd drag you off, and you ain't no good to us then, are ya?" **

"You sound even more melodramatic than me with that statement" _Thomas _laughed causing the others too as well.

"You don't want to be like that" Teresa chuckled pointing at _Alby_ who was in the middle of trying to hold down a smile and blushing.

"**I don't even know what you're talking about," Thomas said slowly, shocked at how steady his voice sounded. **

**Newt reached out and grabbed Alby by the shoulders. "Alby, lay off a bit. You're hurtin' more than helpin', ya know?"**

"You do that even in our world, don't know when to keep your trap shut" Janson glared at Alby who just smiled brightly picking up his hand and wiggling his fingers in a patronising way. "If you don't stop boy there will be hell to pay" Janson glared at the boy who just glared at him but said no more.

**Alby let go of Thomas's shirt and stepped back, his chest heaving with breaths. "Ain't got time to be nice, Greenbean. Old life's over, new life's begun. Learn the rules quick, listen, don't talk. You get me?" **

"Please say you're not thinking of teaching when you're older" Brenda pleaded causing chuckles to rumble. "I think you would be the Miss Trunchball in Matilda of the school."

All the students laughed out loud to this and even Alby couldn't help but chuckle.

The gladers didn't laugh however, having not been able to see the movie, though some did (_Minho_) as the statement didn't seem to be a compliment on their leader.

**Thomas looked over at Newt, hoping for help.**

"Everyone goes over to Newt for help" Alby rolled his eyes in fake annoyance.

"That's only because you push everyone away and they need my help"

**Everything inside him churned and hurt; the tears that had yet to come burned his eyes. **

**Newt nodded. "Greenie, you get him, right?" He nodded again.**

"How helpful."

**Thomas fumed, wanted to punch somebody.**

"Not you Newt" _Thomas _reassured with a smile as the boy turned to look at him with shock in his eyes.

"Good that, because you know I would have kicked your shucking arse good bye if you had" _Newt_ raised a blonde brow daringly.

**But he simply said, "Yeah." **

"**Good that," Alby said. "First Day. That's what today is for you, shank. Night's comin', Runners'll be back soon.**

"Bet I'm a runner" Minho clapped his hands together excitedly.

"Too right" _Minho _answered for him high fiving his counterpart comically.

**The Box came late today, ain't got time for the Tour. Tomorrow morning, right after the wake-up." He turned toward Newt. "Get him a bed, get him to sleep."**

"Oooh" Minho wiggled his eyes suggestively.

Both Newt's and Thomas' blushed in embarrassment and both Alby's eyes widened in… jealousy?

"Get your mind out of the gutter Minho" Thomas complained shoving his friend who just laughed.

"**Good that," Newt said. **

**Alby's eyes returned to Thomas, narrowing. "A few weeks, you'll be happy, shank. You'll be happy and helpin'. None of us knew jack on First Day, you neither. New life begins tomorrow." **

"You really need to start being nice to people" _Newt _whispered in the boys ear making him shiver.

"I can be like however I want to be" _Alby _retorted but it didn't hold any of that usual anger which was normally laced into his voice.

**Alby turned and pushed his way through the crowd, then headed for the slanted wooden building in the corner. Most of the kids wandered away then, each one giving Thomas a lingering look before they walked off. **

"It's just because they think I'm so hot" _Thomas _smirked causing the others to laugh at his antics and for Minho, to blush. "Yes Minho I was doing an impression of you" to finish it off he even flexed his biceps.

"You may be my friend Thomas but I'm not afraid to hit you" _Minho _threatened, pointing a strong finger towards him.

**Thomas folded his arms, closed his eyes, took a deep breath. Emptiness ate away at his insides, quickly replaced by a sadness that hurt his heart.**

"That's what it sort of feels like when you lose someone" Thomas muttered sadly, it actually feels like there is a ginormous hole in your chest and there is no one there to pick up the pieces.

No one said anything, none of the gladers even dared to ask a question on what Thomas was going on about they all just sat in silence for a minute until Thomas nodded for _Brenda _to continue.

**It was all too much—where was he? What was this place? Was it some kind of prison? If so, why had he been sent here, and for how long?**

"Just to put your minds at rest, no this is not a prison. None have you have done anything wrong, you are here to help" _Janson _explained and all the gladers sighed in relief, except _Gally _and _Alby _who already knew this somewhat from the changing.

**The language was odd, and none of the boys seemed to care whether he lived or died. Tears threatened again to fill his eyes, but he refused to let them come.**

"Strong, even Alby cried on his first day" _Newt _muttered, earning a glare from the said boy.

"**What did I do?" he whispered, not really meaning for anyone to hear him. "What did I do—why'd they send me here?" **

**Newt clapped him on the shoulder. "Greenie, what you're feelin', we've all felt it.**

"Think how I felt, I'm the youngest here and then all these older boys come up and start circling me" _Chuck _told them waving his arms around like an idiot.

**We've all had First Day, come out of that dark box. Things are bad, they are, and they'll get much worse for ya soon, that's the truth. But down the road a piece, you'll be fightin' true and good. I can tell you're not a bloody sissy." **

"See, that is how you break it to a person" Thomas said, looking at Alby who rolled his eyes with a smile on his face.

"**Is this a prison?" Thomas asked; he dug in the darkness of his thoughts, trying to find a crack to his past.**

_Thomas _was still relieved that he had done nothing wrong in the past, well nothing extremely wrong that it ended him up in prison. However, he must have done something for _Gally_ to hate him so much.

"**Done asked your questions, haven't ya?" Newt replied. "No good answers for ya, not yet, anyway. Best be quiet now, accept the change—morn comes tomorrow."**

"I don't see how everyone accepts it when Newt says stuff like that but when I do it's an abomination." _Alby _grumbled annoyed.

"It's because Newt is the glade mother, no one messes with the mother." _Minho _smirked as both _Newt _and_ Alby _staggered on what to say.

"I am no mother" _Newt _blushed though couldn't help but agreeing a tiny bit because he was the one who looked after everyone the most.

"You are Newt, don't even try to say you're not" _Gally _even had to admit that _Newt _was their sort of glade mother.

**Thomas said nothing, his head sunk, his eyes staring at the cracked, rocky ground. A line of small-leafed weeds ran along the edge of one of the stone blocks, tiny yellow flowers peeping through as if searching for the sun, long disappeared behind the enormous walls of the Glade.**

"You really have an eye for detail, I never take any notice of that klunk" _Alby _snorted.

"That's the reason you have never been a runner, because you never pay attention to the changes" _Newt _sniggered. "That and you can't be bothered running."

"Probably why he's so heavy" _Thomas _continued, now in the firing line of _Alby's _glaring.

"**Chuck'll be a good fit for ya," Newt said. "Wee little fat**

"HEY" Both Chucks complained loudly, causing the others to laugh.

"Sorry Chuck but you do have quite a bit of chunk on your bones" Thomas laughed poking the boys blubber.

**shank, but nice sap when all's said and done. Stay here, I'll be back." **

**Newt had barely finished his sentence when a sudden, piercing scream ripped through the air.**

All the students eyes widened as the gladers shuddered in distress.

**High and shrill, the barely human shriek echoed across the stone courtyard; every kid in sight turned to look toward the source. Thomas felt his blood turn to icy slush as he realized that the horrible sound came from the wooden building. **

"Do we have to sleep in there?" Chuck asked his voice now laced to the brim in fear.

"The place isn't haunted, it's just a person was going through a rough time" _Newt _tried to lamely reassure.

"A very rough time" _Alby _shuddered feeling sick.

_Newt _glared at the boy "You really need to learn when the best time an input like that is relevant… Never."

**Even Newt had jumped as if startled, his forehead creasing in concern. **

"**Shuck it," he said. "Can't the bloody Med-jacks handle that boy for ten minutes without needin' my help?"**

"Glade mother" _Minho _coughed with a smirk.

**He shook his head and lightly kicked Thomas on the foot. "Find Chuckie, tell him he's in charge of your sleepin' arrangements." And then he turned and headed in the direction of the building, running.**

"Find Chuckie, how hard is it in a place full of sixty other boys" _Thomas _rolled his eyes.

**Thomas slid down the rough face of the tree until he sat on the ground again; he shrank back against the bark and closed his eyes, wishing he could wake up from this terrible, terrible dream.**

"That's the end of the chapter" _Brenda _said, putting down the book.

"I'll read next" Aris said taking the book from _Brenda._

* * *

**_\- It has come to my knowledge that Americans find it quite difficult to understand the Geordie accent, I didn't choose it because of that though it does fit in quite well, I chose it because I just absolutely adore the Geordie accent and I wanted my Newt to have the accent I love._**

**_\- If there are any questions about the story feel free to ask, I don't mind at all even if you think they are stupid questions I would love to answer them :)_**

**_\- I can take CONSTRUCTIVE criticism so if there is anything I have done wrong, which I can correct please tell me, or if you like you can even give me ideas for what can happen in future chapters... There are a lot of chapters so I need a lot of new drama's and stuff._**

**_\- PLEASE TAKE THE POLL ON MY PROFILE AS TO WHO YOU THINK IS JANSONS VICTIM!_**

**_\- I got my GCSE results back yesterday and I am more than happy with my 1 A*, 5 A's, 1 B and 2 C's (I improved on my C's so I don't really need them anymore so :)_**

**_-PLEASE REVIEW!_**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: I am not James Dashner**_

_**Chapter Beta'd on 08/11/15**_

* * *

"Chapter three" Aris coughed a little in preparation.

**Thomas sat there for several moments, too overwhelmed to move.**

"Good thing you didn't react that badly the first day of school, you would have been bullied for the rest of your time" Gally laughed, not noticing the death glare _Thomas _sent him.

**He finally forced himself to look over at the haggard building. A group of boys milled around outside, glancing anxiously at the upper windows as if expecting a hideous beast to leap out in an explosion of glass and wood.**

All the gladers shuddered with fear at the thought, being in the glade so long has taught them all not to always trust their judgement and always be on high alert… because truly anything can happen.

**A metallic clicking sound from the branches above grabbed his attention, made him look up; a flash of silver and red light caught his eyes just before disappearing around the trunk to the other side.**

"God, they sound like those weird things Headmistress Paige invested in to watch over on us" Teresa grimaced in disgust, she hated them when one all of a sudden went into the girls changing rooms when they were getting dresses after PE (she expected Janson had something to do with that.)

Minho grumbled under his breath.

"I don't know why you're grumbling, you're the reason she invested in them amigo… What with you sneaking out every single night in order to find a girl" Jorge chuckled comically, cherishing the look of Minho's face turning brick red in a matter of seconds.

"You're a shucking liar Mr. Kornecki" Minho's blush didn't leave his face.

"Better beetle blades than Griever though" Newt shuddered, that man was beyond creepy.

All the students and even Jorge nodded gravely, that man was a creep.

"Griever?" _Alby _questioned a frown of confusion on his face.

"The caretaker at Glade High" Thomas defined.

Most of the gladers laughed with no humour, leaving all the students confused "We would take a caretaker called Griever any day to our shucking grievers." _Minho _barked with laughter.

Chuck was about to ask what the Griever was like in their world but was interrupted.

"Trust me, you don't want to know" _Newt _raised an elegant eyebrow at the boy, effectively shutting him up.

**He scrambled to his feet and walked around the tree, craning his neck for a sign of whatever he'd heard, but he saw only bare branches, grey and brown, forking out like skeleton fingers**

"I really do admire your imagination" _Brenda _smirked at _Thomas_, even though he had only just met this girl he found himself blushing furiously.

_Teresa _looked between the two, she wasn't jealous. However, there must be a reason as to why _Brenda _is here, all _Teresa _could do is wait and then she will eventually find out the motives of this girl and why she is important enough to be here.

—**and looking just as alive. **

"**That was one of them beetle blades," someone said.**

_Chuck _grinned knowingly.

**Thomas turned to his right to see a kid standing nearby, short and pudgy,**

"HEY!" Both chucks wailed once again.

"Maybe we should make Chuck a runner, then he will lose all that baby weight" Thomas chuckled poking Chuck in the tummy and sending a look towards Jorge.

"No way" _Chuck _paled shaking his head furiously.

"Don't worry Chucky I wouldn't let them do that, at least not without training" _Newt _patted _Chuck _on the back reassuringly but the boy just paled further.

**staring at him. He was young—probably the youngest of any in the group he'd seen so far,**

"That's because I am the youngest, I really do hate being born on August 31st sometimes" Chuck grumbled making the older students coo and pinch his cheek childishly.

**maybe twelve or thirteen years old.**

"Eleven" Chuck huffed.

**His brown hair hung down over his ears and neck, scraping the tops of his shoulders. Blue eyes shone through an otherwise pitiful face, flabby and flushed.**

"How come you make everyone else sound hot and I'm there all flabby and flushed?" _Chuck _said in a false hurt tone, pretending to wipe a tear from his eyes.

"He can only think what he sees and apparently what he sees in Newt is hotness" Alby chuckled nudging Newt lightly in the ribcage.

Newt turned cherry red in embarrassment; shyly he tucked his hair behind his ear "Oh shut up" he muttered.

**Thomas nodded at him. "A beetle what?" **

"**Beetle blade," the boy said, pointing to the top of the tree. "Won't hurt ya unless you're stupid enough to touch one of them." **

_Alby _winced, he was the one to find out that touching the beetle blade only caused pain.

**He paused. "Shank." He didn't sound comfortable saying the last word,**

"It takes everyone a couple of months to get used to it" _Alby _said then rethought "Well everybody but Thomas, that slint-head got it in the first few days."

**as if he hadn't quite grasped the slang of the Glade.**

"Don't worry" _Newt _said, once again giving the smaller boy a reassuring clap on the shoulder.

**Another scream, this one long and nerve-grinding, tore through the air and Thomas's heart lurched.**

_Thomas _shivered despite it not being cold, he could still hear Ben's screams in his head as if it was yesterday when in actual fact he had already been there about a week and a few days now.

**The fear was like icy dew on his skin. "What's going on over there?" he asked, pointing at the building. **

"A person is going through hell and back" _Alby _and _Gally _shuddered.

_Janson _had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes, thinking of how the boys over exaggerate so much in comparison to the girls.

"**Don't know," the chubby boy replied; his voice still carried the high pitch of childhood. "Ben's in there, sicker than a dog. **_**They**_** got him."**

"They?" Thomas asked, looking quite terrified.

Aris smirked, reading out the next line.

"**They?" Thomas didn't like the malicious way the boy had said the word.**

The students all started laughing, though they too were afraid of what exactly 'they' are. They sure had nothing like that coming from their school.

"**Yeah." **

"**Who are**_** They**_**?" **

"**Better hope you never find out," the kid answered,**

"How reassuring" _Jorge _said, sarcastically rolling his eyes.

**looking far too comfortable for the situation. He held out his hand. "My name's Chuck. I was the Greenbean until you showed up." **

"I was so glad when you guys stopped calling me that" _Chuck _smiled happily.

_Gally _grinned evilly "Oh shut up greenbean."

_Chuck _sent the older boy a death glare but decided not to say anything because no one liked to be on the receiving end of_ Gally's _anger.

_**This is my guide for the night?**_** Thomas thought. He couldn't shake his extreme discomfort, and now annoyance crept in as well.**

"Hey what's so bad about me?" Chuck huffed, turning his back on Thomas.

With a roll of his eyes Thomas put Chuck into a headlock, making the younger boy wail. "Think about it I turn up at a new school and find out that my tour is a first year who only came the month before me… how would you feel?"

"Point taken" Chuck growled still struggling to get out of the headlock.

Taking pity on the boy, Thomas let go of him making him go rolling onto the floor.

**Nothing made sense; his head hurt. **

"**Why is everyone calling me Greenbean?" he asked, shaking Chuck's hand quickly, then letting go.**

"Rude" Chuck huffed, he was now sitting back up again on his comfy spot on his bed cushion.

"**Cuz you're the newest Newbie." Chuck pointed at Thomas and laughed. Another scream came from the house, a sound like a starving animal being tortured.**

"Your similes are really starting to disturb me now" Janson frowned, though he was impressed with the boy's imagination which was very descriptive.

"What can I say, I can't help what I think" Thomas shrugged, secretly glad he was freaking the most hated teacher out with his imagination.

"**How can you be laughing?" Thomas asked, horrified by the noise. "It sounds like someone's dying in there." **

"**He'll be okay. No one dies if they make it back in time to get the Serum.**

"Who the hell told you that you need to get the serum in an allotted time?" _Thomas _asked scandalised, he had only just thought of that now.

_Newt _and _Alby _blushed. "We just presumed" _Newt _started to try and defend himself but was interrupted by _Alby._

"That it had a time limit, I, for one, am thankful it didn't" _Alby _sighed in relief, if there was a time limit he would have been screwed.

**It's all or nothing. Dead or not dead. Just hurts a lot." **

**This gave Thomas pause. "What hurts a lot?" **

"I'm not sure if I actually want to know" Teresa grimaced.

**Chuck's eyes wandered as if he wasn't sure what to say. "Um, gettin' stung by the Grievers."**

"Griever?" Brenda laughed and all the gladers turned to look at her shocked. "I'm sorry but the griever in our world, his bark is a lot worse than his bite."

Most of the students laughed, all except one whose face went deadly pale at the thought of the school's caretaker… no she was wrong… His bite is a whole lot worse than his bark.

"**Grievers?" Thomas was only getting more and more confused. Stung. Grievers. The words had a heavy weight of dread to them,**

"Try being on the receiving end of it, it hurts like a shucking slint" _Gally _looked like he was about to vomit but thankfully he didn't.

"You're not the only one shank" _Alby _glared at the younger boy, who just huffed.

**and he suddenly wasn't so sure he wanted to know what Chuck was talking about. **

**Chuck shrugged, then looked away, eyes rolling. **

"Don't act like you weren't klunking yourself when you first heard someone go through the changing" _Minho _glared at _Chuck _who squeaked a bit in terror.

**Thomas sighed in frustration and leaned back against the tree. "Looks like you barely know more than I do," he said,**

"Really?" _Chuck _said with a raise of his eyebrows.

**but he knew it wasn't true.**

"Exactly."

**His memory loss was strange. He mostly remembered the workings of the world—but emptied of specifics, faces, names.**

"It's weird… you wouldn't know your family even if they walked right past you" Thomas said forlornly.

The gladers just shrugged "We don't know any better" _Minho _explained.

**Like a book completely intact but missing one word in every dozen, making it a miserable and confusing read. He didn't even know his age. **

"**Chuck, how . . . old do you think I am?" **

"Asking an eleven year old, classic" Alby snorted.

**The boy scanned him up and down. "I'd say you're sixteen. And in case you were wondering, five foot nine . . . brown hair. Oh, and ugly as fried liver on a stick."**

Both Thomas' blushed furiously as all the others burst into laughter, well except the Jansons who never laugh or smile.

Thomas' green eyes met Teresa's mirth filled blue ones, she gave him a wink which only made him blush more.

**He snorted a laugh. **

**Thomas was so stunned he'd barely heard the last part. Sixteen? He was **_**sixteen**_**? He felt much older than that.**

"Oh yes, sorry, I was a bit confused that day I meant to say sixty" _Chuck _snorted.

_Thomas _rolled his eyes half-heartedly giving his younger friend a slight shove.

"**Are you serious?" He paused, searching for words. "How . . ." He didn't even know what to ask.**

"Wow, you made Tom speechless, that's a miracle" Teresa awed, laughing slightly as Thomas sent her a betrayed look.

"**Don't worry. You'll be all whacked for a few days, but then you'll get used to this place. I have. We live here, this is it. Better than living in a pile of klunk."**

"Anything's better than living in a pile of klunk" _Minho _wrinkled his nose in disgust.

**He squinted, maybe anticipating Thomas's question. "**_**Klunk's**_** another word for poo. Poo makes a klunk sound when it falls in our pee pots." **

"Pee Pots? Dudes wait till you hear the sound it makes in an actual toilet… There's water at the bottom of them as well" Minho barked with laughter.

"It's more of a klunk splash" Aris snorted before returning back to the book, ignoring the sniggers.

**Thomas looked at Chuck, unable to believe he was having this conversation. "That's nice" was all he could manage.**

"Better reaction than most people, they just seem to give looks of disgust" _Newt _marvelled, smiling calmly.

**He stood up and walked past Chuck toward the old building; shack was a better word for the place. It looked three or four stories high and about to fall down at any minute**

"Are you really sure we have to stay in there?" Chuck said in a strangled voice.

_Alby _rolled his eyes in annoyance "Yes, so shut it," he growled.

—**a crazy assortment of logs and boards and thick twine and windows seemingly thrown together at random, the massive, ivy-strewn stone walls rising up behind it.**

"Oi stop dissing Homestead… It took me shucking ages to fix that place up" _Gally _growled in defence, it was true, he was one of the people who put up the final pieces to homestead in order to make it work.

**As he moved across the courtyard, the distinct smell of firewood and some kind of meat cooking made his stomach grumble.**

"Frypan" all the gladers chuckled.

Something then all of a sudden popped into _Thomas' _mind "Hey what's Frypan's real name?"

_Alby _tried not to snigger "Siggy."

"Why does he call himself Frypan…? Siggy sounds a whole lot better." _Thomas _asked confused.

"Because we made up the Siggy song, and ever since he's been calling himself Frypan." _Newt _chuckled.

_Thomas _shook his head; he will have to learn that song later on after the books.

**Knowing now that it was just a sick kid doing the screaming made Thomas feel better.**

"You have some shucking problems shank" _Gally _looked warily at _Thomas._

**Until he thought about what had caused it . . . **

One of the students shivered, once again going pale.

"**What's your name?" Chuck asked from behind, running to catch up.**

"See, he would make an amazing runner" _Minho _slapped _Chuck _on the back laughing mirthfully when the chubby child paled in fear.

_Chuck _shook his head furiously "No way you're getting me in that maze unless it means a way out."

Jorge chuckled "If Thomas can be a runner anyone can."

All the gladers turned to look at Jorge confused as Thomas blushed.

"What?" _Thomas _asked confused. "What do you mean?"

Thomas looked slightly embarrassed "What he means is, because I have Asthma it is normally really hard for people like me to be physically active but because I am it means anyone could."

"Thomas that is not just Asthma that is Asthma and a half, yet you're still one of the greatest runners known at glade high" Jorge said proudly.

"Asthma?" _Thomas _repeated a look of confusion on his face.

"Do none of you know what Asthma is?" At the looks of confusion Thomas carried on "well in short terms my lungs suck at being lungs" Thomas smiled at the shocked looks he received. Taking out his inhaler he shaked it a bit then took a puff.

"No one has Asthma anymore" _Janson _began to explain "Quite a few centuries ago we all just started to become immune to it because they found a cure."

"A cure? Do you think you could give it me" Thomas asked hopeful.

"I don't see why not" this time it was _Jorge._

Thomas could have screamed to the heavens he was so happy, his Asthma had been a pain all his life.

"**What?" **

"You really ought to… what's the word? Listen" Brenda raised an eyebrow at Thomas who just gave her a sheepish smile.

"**Your name? You still haven't told us—and I know you remember that much." **

"**Thomas." He barely heard himself say it—his thoughts had spun in a new direction.**

"Your mind is constantly going in different directions, you mean to say" Janson glowered, the boy was constantly day dreaming in his class. He was surprised as to how the boy was passing it.

**If Chuck was right, he'd just discovered a link to the rest of the boys. A common pattern to their memory losses. They all remembered their names.**

"I don't think any glader has actually sunk that deep into understanding, we just try to survive" _Alby _raised an eyebrow at _Thomas _who just shrugged.

**Why not their parents' names? Why not a friend's name? Why not their **_**last**_** names?**

_Alby _and _Gally _shivered, they knew why, but there was no way they were going to voice it out loud. Especially after what happened to _Alby _last time he tried to say something.

"**Nice to meet you, Thomas," Chuck said. "Don't you worry, I'll take care of you. I've been here a whole month, and I know the place inside and out. You can count on Chuck, okay?"**

"I'm sorry but that was really not reassuring in the slightest" Thomas laughed looking between the two blushing Chucks.

**Thomas had almost reached the front door of the shack and the small group of boys congregating there when he was hit by a sudden and surprise rush of anger. He turned to face Chuck. "You can't even **_**tell**_** me anything. I wouldn't call that taking care of me."**

"Hey, don't pick on Chuck" _Newt _scolded clapping _Thomas _around the head lightly.

"You called him fat before" _Thomas _defended rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm allowed to as people say" _Newt _smirked "I'm the glade mother."

Most of the gladers and students had to muffle their sniggers as _Thomas _and Newt turned bright red.

**He turned back toward the door, intent on going inside to find some answers. Where this sudden courage and resolve came from, he had no idea.**

"He has a Gryffindor heart" Minho roared dramatically and all the students and even the teachers turned to look at him shocked.

"I never knew you were a Potterhead" Newt raised his eyebrows in shock.

"Well I need something to do in my spare time when I'm not out banging girls" Minho sniffed, folding his arms over his chest.

"So you've read the Harry Potters?" Teresa asked disbelievingly, she knew he wasn't talking about the films because they weren't allowed to watch TV. They had all watched Geordie Shore on Thomas' laptop, which had gotten confiscated the next day and blocked from all such websites.

"I can read you know" Minho growled back, irritated.

"How come you never do your homework then if you've got enough spare time to read books" Jorge asked confused.

"Because I'm using my spare time to read Harry Potter duh," Minho said it as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Janson and Jorge both sent Minho looks of utter shock, both of their mouths hanging open ready to catch flies.

In order to stop anymore arguing from escalating Aris continued reading, sighing in relief when everyone's attention turned back to him.

**Chuck shrugged. "Nothin' I say'll do you any good," he said. "I'm basically still a Newbie, too. But I can be your friend—"**

"**I don't need friends," Thomas interrupted.**

"Ooh, that was harsh" _Teresa _scolded _Thomas _sending him a disapproving look.

**He'd reached the door, an ugly slab of sun-faded wood, and he pulled it open to see several stoic-faced boys standing at the foot of a crooked staircase, the steps and railings twisted and angled in all directions.**

"You guys really didn't make that place very well" _Thomas _raised an eyebrow chuckling when everyone sent him angry glares.

"I'd like to see you make a homestead out of practically nothing" _Gally _growled.

"You were only there for the end of it so you can shucking shut it, but yes, he was right" _Alby _growled, though he looked hesitant to say the last part.

**Dark wallpaper covered the walls of the foyer and hallway, half of it peeling off. The only decorations in sight were a dusty vase on a three-legged table and a black-and-white picture of an ancient woman dressed in an old-fashioned white dress.**

Newt, for a second looked alarmed, but then put on his usual calm façade.

"Where the hell did you even get that?" _Thomas _asked.

"I painted it" _Newt _answered with a shrug, everyone except Newt and Alby looked at the boy in shock. "When I hurt my shucking leg I got bored because I was on bed rest… so I just drew it. I don't know why I drew her she just seems familiar…"

"I didn't know you could draw" Janson narrowed his eyes at Newt who fidgeted uncomfortable.

"Yeah, well it's just more doodles" Newt shrugged shyly.

"There better than doodles, he's got a book full of them" Alby defended and Newt turned to look at him terrified.

"How did you know that? Where did you find that book? How much did you see?" Newt asked quickly, his eyes almost crazed.

"Whoa calm down, you left it on your desk when you went into the shower and I didn't look through all of it… you came out of the shower before I could finish" Alby put his hands up in surrender.

Newt sighed in relief, glad the book wasn't in his bag and Alby had gone routing through it. "Are our bags here?"

_Minho _was glad he could stop the tension between the two with an answer "Yeah they're in homestead, we will get you them after the chapter."

**It reminded Thomas of a haunted house from a movie**

"Film" Newt muttered.

Alby just rolled his eyes at his British friend in half-hearted annoyance.

**or something. There were even planks of wood missing from the floor. **

**The place reeked of dust and mildew—a big contrast to the pleasant smells outside. **

"Yeah the Glade isn't the most pleasant smelling place" _Chuck _agreed with a stiff nod, wrinkling his nose.

**Flickering fluorescent lights shone from the ceiling. He hadn't thought of it yet, but he had to wonder where the electricity came from in a place like the Glade.**

"We give it to you, that's how" _Janson _told them with a raised brow.

All the gladers glared at _Janson _with fire in their eyes, if he is a dick here they would hate to have him as a shucking teacher.

**He stared at the old woman in the picture. Had she lived here once? Taken care of these people?**

Newt shivered, that woman was part of his nightmares.

"**Hey, look, it's the Greenbean," one of the older boys called out. With a start, Thomas realized it was the black-haired guy who'd given him the look of death earlier.**

_Thomas _glared _at Gally _who just glared right back at him.

**He looked like he was fifteen or so,**

"Sixteen" Gally put in hoping to ease the tension… to no such luck.

**tall and skinny. His nose was the size of a small fist and resembled a deformed potato. **

"Hey!" both Gally's screamed in outrage as all the students and gladers (along with _Brenda _and the two Jorge's) all to burst out laughing.

"You could have at least said an average potato" Gally frowned rubbing his nose protectively.

Thomas chuckled smiling at his friend who just rolled his eyes.

Not the same as _Thomas _and _Gally _who were having a glare war.

"**This shank probably klunked his pants when he heard old Benny baby scream like a girl.**

"You screamed worse than that" _Alby _smirked relishing the look when _Gally _blushed.

**Need a new diaper,**

"Nappy" Newt inputted.

Alby sighed in frustration making Newt jump in shock "Are you going to do that for everything"

"What if I do?"

"I will probably end up punching you."

Newt smiled almost shyly "You know you would never hurt me."

Alby grumbled something under his breath making Newt chuckle.

**shuck-face?" **

"**My name's Thomas." He had to get away from this guy. Without another word, he made for the stairs, only because they were close, only because he had no idea what to do or say.**

"Straight to where the screaming is?" _Brenda _raised an eyebrow at _Thomas _who just chuckled nervously.

**But the bully**

"Whoa, you did not just call me a bully" Gally looked over at Thomas astonished.

"Well you are a bully here" _Thomas _said glaring daggers at _Gally._

**stepped in front of him, holding a hand up. **

"**Hold on there, Greenie." He jerked a thumb in the direction of the upper floor. "Newbies aren't allowed to see someone who's been . . . **_**taken**_**. Newt and Alby won't allow it."**

"We still wouldn't allow you to come up. You would still probably klunk your pants" _Alby_ smirked yet again.

_Gally's _face turned red again though this time it wasn't in embarrassment. It was in pure molten anger, and in any second he was going to blow.

"**What's your problem?" Thomas asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice, trying not to think what the kid had meant by taken. "I don't even know where I am. All I want is some help."**

"Well you ain't gonna get it from me"_ Gally _hissed.

_Thomas _rolled his eyes "I know that now slint head."

"**Listen to me, Greenbean." The boy wrinkled up his face, folded his arms. "I've seen you before. Something's fishy about you showing up here, and I'm gonna find out what." **

"You figured it out yet?" _Thomas _asked, somewhat curiously but that couldn't be seen past the frown which marred his face.

_Alby _sent _Gally _a warning look, and shook his head.

"No" was all the latter muttered.

**A surge of heat pulsed through Thomas's veins. "I've never seen you before in my life. I have no idea who you are, and I couldn't care less," he spat. But really, how would he know?**

"I don't know about you guys but I am really curious as to what the shuck is going on with Tommy and the changing" _Newt _said a wry grin on his face.

_Jorge _and _Brenda _shared a look, not sure how everyone will cope when they discover _Thomas,_ _Teresa _and _Aris _all had a part in putting them in the maze.

**And how could this kid remember**_** him**_**? **

**The bully snickered, a short burst of laughter mixed with a phlegm-filled snort.**

"Dude, not cool" Gally face palmed himself sending a false hurt look towards Thomas who was finding it hard to stifle his laughter.

"Sorry mate."

**Then his face grew serious, his eyebrows slanting inward. "I've . . . **_**seen**_** you, shank. Not too many in these parts can say they've been stung."**

"Quite a few people have" _Newt _said in defence.

**He pointed up the stairs. "I have. I know what old Benny baby's going through. I've been there. And I saw **_**you**_** during the Changing." **

_Thomas _frowned, what if he had actually done something really bad. _Alby _had said that it was nothing to worry over, but there must be a reason as to why _Gally _hated him so much and that Ben tried to kill him.

**He reached out and poked Thomas in the chest. "And I bet your first meal from Frypan that Benny'll say he's seen ya, too."**

"You owe me a meal" _Gally _said looking at _Thomas._

"Fat chance."

**Thomas refused to break eye contact but decided to say nothing. Panic ate at him once again. Would things ever stop getting worse? **

"No" _Minho _laughed.

_Thomas _rolled his eyes "I know that now shank."

Thomas gulped in fear; things are going to get worse?

"**Griever got ya wettin' yourself?" the boy said through a sneer. "A little scared now? Don't wanna get **_**stung**_**, do ya?" **

"Does anyone?" _Teresa _asked in a strangled voice.

**There was that word again. **_**Stung.**_** Thomas tried not to think about it and pointed up the stairs, from where the moans of the sick kid echoed through the building. "If Newt went up there, then I wanna talk to him." **

_Newt _smiled in friendly way "Awww Tommy I love you too."

_Thomas _blushed "That's alright you can save that for Alby."

Both _Alby _and _Newt _blushed furiously in embarrassment.

**The boy said nothing, stared at Thomas for several seconds. Then he shook his head. "You know what? You're right, Tommy—**

"Don't call me that… Only Newt can call me that just like only Teresa can call me Tom" _Thomas _said defensively.

Both Newts and Teresa's shared a look with each other, secretly proud that he was so defensive.

**I shouldn't be so mean to Newbies. Go on upstairs and I'm sure Alby and Newt'll fill you in. Seriously, go on. I'm sorry."**

"Dude's we're mates and I still wouldn't trust you if you said that to me" Thomas laughed his green eyes full of youth.

**He lightly slapped Thomas's shoulder, then stepped back, gesturing up the stairs. But Thomas knew the kid was up to something. Losing parts of your memory didn't make you an idiot.**

"Thank God" Minho chuckled.

"**What's your name?" Thomas asked, stalling for time while he tried to decide if he should go up after all. **

"Perfect plan" Minho rolled his eyes at Thomas' petty diversion.

"**Gally. And don't let anyone fool you. I'm the real leader here,**

Both Alby's snorted.

**not the two geezer shanks upstairs.**

"What did you just call us?" _Alby _and _Newt _said simultaneously, both glaring daggers at the boy.

_Gally _gulped in fear at the two furious looks he was getting.

"Oooh klunk is going to go down here" Minho said excitedly looking between the three.

"Geezers?" _Newt _repeated.

Aris hastily continued not wanting a fight to go on.

**Me. You can call me Captain Gally if you want."**

"Captain Gally can shuck off" _Alby _growled.

**He smiled for the first time; his teeth matched his disgusting nose. Two or three were missing, and not a single one approached anything close to the colour white.**

This was something Gally didn't mind. Smiling widely he revealed two sets of braces going along shining white teeth. "Braces are annoying as hell but I'd rather have this on, then have my teeth like that" he said proudly.

However, _Gally _was seething. Sneering he revealed his distasteful teeth.

"Don't sneer at us. It's not our shucking fault you don't brush your teeth" _Newt _wrinkled his nose in disgust.

**His breath escaped just enough for Thomas to get a whiff, reminding him of some horrible memory that was just out of reach. It made his stomach turn.**

"Dude you really might want to consider asking for a tooth brush" _Alby_ shuddered.

"Okay," he said, so sick of the guy he wanted to scream or punch him in the face.

"Please do" _Minho _and _Chuck _chanted together pleadingly.

"**Captain Gally it is." He exaggerated a salute, feeling a rush of adrenaline, as he knew he'd just crossed a line. **

A few sniggers were emitted but were cut off quickly by the look _Gally_ sent them.

**A few snickers escaped the crowd, and Gally looked around, his face bright red. He peered back at Thomas, hatred furrowing his brow and crinkling his monstrous nose. **

"Okay I really hope you stop going on about my nose now" Gally frowned looking genuinely hurt. He knew he wasn't the best looking shank around but he didn't like people to go on about it.

"**Just go up the stairs," Gally said. "And stay away from me, you little slinthead."**

"Ooooh scary" Minho sniggered.

**He pointed up again but didn't take his eyes off Thomas. **

"**Fine." Thomas looked around one more time, embarrassed, confused, angry.**

"Dude make up your mind" _Minho _frowned, he only had two emotions. He was either happy or angry.

**He felt the heat of blood in his face. No one made a move to stop him from doing as Gally asked, except for Chuck, who stood at the front door, shaking his head. **

"Why does no one listen to me?" _Chuck _asked in confusion.

"We do listen to you, it just doesn't sink in" _Newt _tried to reassure, putting a hand on the younger boys shoulder.

_Chuck _nodded before realising what the older boy had just said "hey!"

"**You're not supposed to," the younger boy said. "You're a Newbie—you can't go up there." **

"**Go," said Gally with a sneer. "Go on up."**

"You would listen to him and not me?" Chuck asked, feigning a hurt look.

Thomas just rolled his eyes and nudged Chuck reassuringly.

**Thomas regretted having come inside in the first place—but he **_**did**_** want to talk to that Newt guy.**

"Dude you should have just asked someone to come and get me" _Newt _raised an eyebrow.

Thomas looked between the two Newts. He didn't know how a person could be so nice. Everyone knew that Newt's had shit in his life, no one knows specifically what, but the boy never failed to be nice to others… He truly was inspirational. Thomas doesn't know what he would do without the Geordie lad… Then again no one would know what to do.

**He started up the stairs. Each step groaned and creaked under his weight;**

"Who's the fatty now?" _Alby _glared at _Thomas._

"If it only creaked and groaned with me, it must be an orchestra when you go up them" _Thomas _snorted.

Alby's face went red with anger "I'm not shucking fat."

**he might've stopped for fear of falling through the old wood if he weren't leaving such an awkward situation below.**

"Should of went back dude" _Chuck _said with a shrug.

"Should have" All the students said simultaneously making _Chuck _jump.

"Excuse me?"

"It's should have, not should of" Newt explained gently.

"Trust us, it's drilled into us ever since we started Glade high" Minho grinned.

**Up he went, wincing at every splintered sound. The stairs reached a landing, turned left, then came upon a railed hallway leading to several rooms. Only one door had a light coming through the crack at the bottom. **

All the students leaned forward intrigued at what they will hear/witness.

"**The Changing!" Gally shouted from below. "Look forward to it, shuck-face!"**

"Little shank" Alby muttered.

**As if the taunting gave Thomas a sudden burst of courage, he walked over to the lit door, ignoring the creaking floorboards and laughter downstairs—**

Gally sent a confused look towards his counterpart. It really sounded like him and Thomas' counterpart hated each other. There was a time that him and Thomas didn't get on like two peas in a pod, but it wasn't half as bad as the relationship the other two had… It was just weird to see two exact replicas of himself and Thomas hate each other so much.

**ignoring the onslaught of words he didn't understand, suppressing the dreadful feelings they induced. He reached down, turned the brass handle, and opened the door.**

**Inside the room, Newt and Alby crouched over someone lying on a bed. **

The students, Jorge and Janson were beyond intrigued now. Wanting to know what was up with Ben. The boy in their world was some sort of a lunatic, so it would be interesting to find out what is actually up with him.

**Thomas leaned in closer to see what the fuss was all about, but when he got a clear look at the condition of the patient, his heart went cold.**

_Alby _shivered, his face going pale.

Seeing his friend in minor distress _Newt _reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze before the other boy snatched his hand away giving him a dirty look.

_Alby _regretted it as soon as he did it. Seeing the look of hurt flash across _Newt's _face before it had returned back to normal was heart breaking. He knew he had treated the blonde badly these past few days but he wasn't ready to admit his feelings yet… He didn't even fully know what his feelings meant.

**He had to fight the bile that surged up his throat. **

**The look was fast—only a few seconds—but it was enough to haunt him forever. A twisted, pale figure writhing in agony, chest bare and hideous. Tight, rigid cords of sickly green veins webbed across the boy's body and limbs, like ropes under his skin.**

All the students and gladers paled.

Chuck actually looked as though he was going to vomit.

"What is happening?" Jorge looked horrified.

"The changing" _Gally _answered in a haunted tone.

**Purplish bruises covered the kid, red hives, bloody scratches. His bloodshot eyes bulged, darting back and forth. The image had already burned into Thomas's mind before Alby jumped up,**

_Thomas _shuddered, the thought of Ben still made him feel sick.

**blocking the view but not the moans and screams, pushing Thomas out of the room, then slamming the door shut behind them.**

"Always the leader" Newt chuckled fondly.

"What do you expect, I am head boy at Glade High after all" Alby grinned.

"You do know I would have got that place if I paid more attention" Minho snickered cheekily.

"Well you don't so that's why I'm head boy" Alby said with finality.

"**What're you doing up here, Greenie!" Alby yelled, his lips taut with anger, eyes on fire.**

"Oooooh Thomas is in trouble" Teresa chuckled lightly, turning to the side to make it look as though she was bitching to Brenda.

**Thomas felt weak. "I . . . uh . . . want some answers," **

"Wow you're one tough cookie, going up against Alby like that." _Minho _said impressed, especially considering that it was the greenbean's first day there as well.

**he murmured, but he couldn't put any strength in his words—felt himself give up inside.**

"Let's just say you reacted better than most people would have" _Jorge _said, he remembered watching the scene on the screens. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the younger boy.

**What was wrong with that kid? Thomas slouched against the railing in the hallway and stared at the floor, not sure what to do next. **

"You have Alby yelling for the whole of shucking America at you and you're not scared" Chuck asked gobsmacked.

"Trust me when you have just witnessed what I did, my mind really wasn't on Alby" _Thomas _explained with raised brows.

"**Get your runtcheeks down those stairs, right now," Alby ordered. "Chuck'll help you. If I see you again before tomorrow morning, you ain't reachin' another one alive. I'll throw you off the Cliff myself, you get me?" **

"Wow that's one angry shank" Brenda whistled.

**Thomas was humiliated and scared. He felt like he'd shrunk to the size of a small rat. **

"Ew" Teresa complained.

**Without saying a word, he pushed past Alby and headed down the creaky steps, going as fast as he dared. Ignoring the gaping stares of everyone at the bottom—especially Gally—**

_Gally _had a smug look upon his face.

**he walked out the door, pulling Chuck by the arm as he did so. **

**Thomas hated these people. He hated all of them. Except Chuck.**

_Newt _raised an eyebrow shocked "Wow I never thought you thought that low of me."

_Thomas _sighed though he was telling the absolute truth when he said "and except Newt too."

"Much better."

"**Get me away from these guys," Thomas said. He realized that Chuck might actually be his only friend in the world.**

"You're quite a pessimist aren't you Tommy?" _Newt _asked with a childish smirk on his face.

"Yes" all of the students (except Thomas), Jorge and Janson said together.

Thomas blushed furiously in embarrassment, his face literally brick red.

"**You got it," Chuck replied, his voice chipper, as if thrilled to be needed.**

"To be honest, I was" _Chuck _admitted shyly, his cheeks tinging red.

_Thomas _smiled happily, he didn't know what he would do if _Chuck _wasn't by his side. He has literally been his friend from the beginning.

"**But first we should get you some food from Frypan." **

"**I don't know if I can ever eat again." Not after what he'd just seen.**

"Well it would be stupid if you didn't" _Brenda _rolled her eyes at the boy.

**Chuck nodded. "Yeah, you will. I'll meet you at the same tree as before. Ten minutes." **

**Thomas was more than happy to get away from the house, and headed back toward the tree. He'd only known what it was like to be alive here for a short while and he already wanted it to end.**

Both Newt's frowned, that didn't sound good. Especially how they had both had that same thought themselves…

The only difference was they tried to act upon it.

**He wished for all the world he could remember something about his previous life. Anything. His mom,**

"Mum" Newt yet again.

**his dad, a friend, his school, a hobby. A girl.**

Teresa bit her lip, sharing a glance with Thomas who just looked at her with wide eyes. Everyone knows they will get together sooner or later because the attraction was there, but Thomas didn't know, something just didn't feel right.

**He blinked hard several times, trying to get the image of what he'd just seen in the shack out of his mind. **

_**The Changing**_**. Gally had called it the Changing. **

**It wasn't cold, but Thomas shuddered once again.**

"That's the end of the chapter" Aris said.

"Can I get my schoolbag now?" Newt said, trying not to sound urgent.

"Yeah follow me." _Minho _said directing Newt to homestead. Once they were a bit away from the rest of crowd the Asian boy finally asked "what do you need out of your bag so much?"

"Oh I just have British stuff in there like Hobnobs and Cadbury's chocolate fingers, I just a get a bit peckish sometimes and it's not like the American stuff… I don't get it that often" That wasn't a complete lie, when living in a boarding school you need to make sure you have food on you at all times and what better than Cadbury's… Though that wasn't why it was so urgent.

"There you go" _Minho _said uncertain, pointing to the bags.

Newt immediately rushed to his bag (the teal one which was covered mostly by band badges) and started routing through it forgetting that _Minho _was watching him he took out four bottles which were full to the brim with tablets. Grabbing a bottle of water from his bag he took one of every tablet, the ones he had failed to take this morning due to all of this happening.

"What's that?" _Minho _asked concerned.

"Medication" Newt answered.

"You're sick?"

Newt nodded looking somewhat ashamed. Though then he smiled gently "I'll be fine though, I just need tablets to keep me healthy. Just don't tell anyone please."

_Minho _didn't look too impressed but nodded nevertheless, deciding not to say anything.

"Oh and I actually do have hobnobs in my bag." Newt grinned as they walked back.

Jorge sent Newt a look and the blonde just nodded smiling slightly.

"I'm reading next it's been decided" _Gally _said with a grunt.

* * *

_**Okay last chapter was a complete and epic fail considering I got no reviews, no follows and no favourites... Is there anything I'm doing wrong?**_

_**Please take the poll on my profile though before you do that PLEASE REVIEW! I AM GETTING DESPERATE!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Okay I know I've not updated in quite a few weeks but that is because I have started college now and the work is unbelievable. I just updated tonight because I really wanted to get a chapter up so I sacrificed some time to do this so I hope you appreciate it :)**_

_**Disclaimer: I am not James Dashner, for starters I am lacking a piece of anatomy to actually make me him... so yeah I think that proves I'm not James Dashner ;)**_

_**Warning: A swear word, slash etc.**_

* * *

**Thomas leaned against the tree as he waited for Chuck. He scanned the compound of the Glade, this new place of nightmares where he seemed destined to live.**

"You are so melodramatic" Teresa winked playfully at Thomas, whose cheeks tinted slightly red.

Both _Teresa _and _Thomas _frowned in confusion, in the other world they seemed to be like great friends, maybe from how they acted possible lovers. That's just what confused them; they can't remember being like that but for some reason the thought of acting like that around each other didn't seem weird.

'_Wonder if we were like that before all this klunk started?'_ _Teresa _thought to _Thomas _who flinched visably, he still wasn't too used to the idea that he can speak to this girl in his mind.

Most of the gladers turned to look at him weirdly, as though he had just sprouted a new pair of ears but the boy just shrugged it off.

'_Don't know' Thomas _tried to reply, but after getting no answer from the girl he had to face that he was a shucking awful telepathic.

**The shadows from the walls had lengthened considerably, already creeping up the sides of the ivy-covered stone faces on the other side. **

"Why go into so much detail about a shucking wall?" _Minho _rolled his eyes; he had seen those four same walls everyday now for two years. The last thing he wanted was for Thomas to go into detail about it.

"We see them enough, you don't need to keep going bloody on about it" _Newt _sighed tiredly. He was starting to get desperate now; he wanted to get out of this shucking place more than ever. However, the odds have not been in his favour even when he did try to get out of this place by his own dangerous way the gods would still not allow him to leave.

"You will be hearing this a lot, Thomas loves going into detail" Aris chuckled. Everyone knew that Thomas was the best story teller in the whole school and that was the reason why.

**At least this helped Thomas know directions—the wooden building crouched in the northwest corner, wedged in a darkening patch of shadow,**

"You are determined to dislike homestead" _Gally _interrupted himself glaring at _Thomas _who glared back just as furiously.

_Minho_ slapped his hand to his forehead, sighing with disbelief. "Gally everyone hates shucking homestead except you. Why do you think everybody sleeps out bloody side?"

_Gally_ blushed furiously making most of the gladers and students chuckle. Seehting with hate he turned back to the book.

**the grove of trees in the southwest. The farm area, where a few workers were still picking their way through the fields, spread across the entire northeast quarter of the Glade. The animals were in the southeast corner, mooing and crowing and baying. **

"I don't think I would have it in me to kill an animal" _Brenda _gagged thanking God she wasn't put in any of the glades.

"Good job you weren't put into the glade then" _Newt _spoke, a tiny hint of bitterness could be heard shocking all the gladers.

_Alby's _look turned dark, the last time _Newt _had sound so bitter about something was the day he later had to drag his friend who was half dead out of the maze, which would have meant certain death. Gripping the top of his friends arm tightly he whispered demandingly "We will talk about this later."

_Newt _turned to glare at the dark skinned boy, but his face softened as soon as he did because there was not only anger on the boy's face, only he could see the worry lying behind it. Grudgingly he nodded calmly snatching his arm back.

Newt and Alby watched the interaction closely. Their counterparts in the glade obviously didn't have the same relationship they did. Where _Newt _was stronger minded in the glade, Newt was weaker minded and needed a lot more help with his self-esteem. And _Alby _was fierce yet caring, Alby was calm and sympathetic to the boy he calls friend.

**In the exact middle of the courtyard, the still-gaping hole of the Box lay open, as if inviting him to jump back in and go home.**

"Why didn't you just send the lifts back down when we were done?" _Chuck _asked looking timidly at _Janson, _he didn't like Rat Man at all… for some reason he just seemed like a man not to be trusted especially how he acts with the students.

"We liked the thought of having it there as temptation. See how many people would try to get back on it home" _Janson _sent an evil look towards _Minho, Alby _and _Newt _who just scowled at his ratty face.

"That's sick" _Minho _spat in disgust.

_Jorge _turned to look at _Janson _a look of pure betrayal of some sort on his face. "That's truly an awful thing to do" he frowned, working for WICKED turned out to a whole lot different than he expected.

"Oh do shut up, it's all in research of the kill zone" _Janson _hissed viciously.

_Jorge _said nothing, just glared at the man he has to work with.

**Near that, maybe twenty feet to the south, stood a squat building made of rough concrete blocks, a menacing iron door its only entrance—there were no windows. **

"Sounds like a prison" Thomas raised his brow looking at the gladers questioningly.

"The Slammer" _Alby _answered, though he doesn't admit it he loves being in charge and giving the authority of putting people in the slammer.

**A large round handle resembling a steel steering wheel marked the only way to open the door, just like something within a submarine. Despite what he'd just seen, Thomas didn't know which he felt more strongly—curiosity to know what was inside, or dread at finding out.**

Alby gave an evil chuckle, making everybody turn to look at him as though he had gone off the rockers.

"What the shuck are you doing?" _Aris _asked deadpanned.

Alby chuckled even more, now turning into a full evil laugh.

Newt with wide eyes started to move away cautiously from the boy who was laughing like a lunatic. People turned to look at him questioningly but he just shook his head quickly… He had absolutely no bloody clue what was going on with the boy he had grown to love.

After a few more minutes of maniacal laughter, Alby coughed and smiled relishing the open jawed looks he was getting.

"What the hell was that?" Gally asked his jaw almost touching the ground.

"Thought right for the situation, the slammer sounds evil" Alby gave another muahaha type laugh.

"You mean we had to listen to you laughing like a crazy person for five minutes, because you thought it was suitable for the situation" _Brenda _looked murderous, she really wanted to know more of what was going to happen in the book instead she had to listen to this bafoon laughing for five minutes.

"Pretty much" Alby shrugged with a smirk.

"Alby" Minho said.

"Yeah?"

"You're an idiot."

"And proud" Alby said seriously, slipping into head boy mode.

**Thomas had just moved his attention to the four vast openings in the middle of the main walls of the Glade when Chuck arrived, a couple of sandwiches cradled in his arms, **

"Food's like a baby, you have to be delicate with it" _Chuck _said affectionately making the gladers and students and even both Jorge's laugh.

"I have never known anyone to like food as much as you do" Jorge said in disbelief, the amount of times he had tried to get that boy to do PE is unbelievable.

"Probably going to stay that way" both Chucks said simultaneously.

**along with apples**

"Chuck's eating healthily! What has happened to the world?" Thomas shouted dramatically a mock shocked expression on his face.

Chuck just rolled his eyes, playfully punching the other boy on the arm.

**and two metal cups of water. The sense of relief that flooded through Thomas surprised him—he wasn't completely alone in this place. **

_Thomas _and _Chuck _smiled at each other. They were more or less brothers now, especially with all the klunk that has been happening recently they're probably even closer now.

"**Frypan wasn't too happy about me invading his kitchen before suppertime," Chuck said, sitting down next to the tree, motioning to Thomas to do the same. He did, grabbed the sandwich, but hesitated, the writhing, monstrous image of what he'd seen in the shack popping back into his mind.**

All the students shivered in disgust, the gladers were now supressing theirs. They had been in the glade a long time now, and all of them, except _Teresa_, had at least once seen someone go through the changing, so they had to be strong.

**Soon, though, his hunger won out and he took a huge bite. The wonderful tastes of ham and cheese and mayonnaise filled his mouth. **

Both Brenda's wrinkled their noses when they heard about the mayonnaise on the sandwich. "You just ruined a perfectly good sandwich by doing that" Brenda said.

Most of the students and gladers looked scandalised when the girl's words reached their ears.

"You create the sandwich, Hellman's makes the sandwich" Chuck said with his eyes closed as though he was in deep prayer.

"Amen" All the students, except Brenda of course, said together.

"You know you guys a really weird" _Newt _smirked, whilst all the students nodded.

"Who would want to be normal?" Minho snorted.

"**Ah, man," Thomas mumbled through a mouthful. "I was starving." **

"**Told ya." Chuck chomped into his own sandwich. **

"What a surprise" Jorge rolled his eyes chuckling lightly.

**After another couple of bites, Thomas finally asked the question that had been bothering him. "What's actually wrong with that Ben guy? He doesn't even look human anymore." **

"You're too curious for your own good" _Alby _raised an eyebrow challengingly at _Thomas _who looked shocked.

"Why wouldn't I be, I just witnessed someone looking like a human pretzel" _Thomas _defended flabbergasted. How could _Alby _not think that?

_Alby _seemed to contemplate for a second before giving in with a nod of his head. "Point taken."

**Chuck glanced over at the house. "Don't really know," he muttered absently. "I didn't see him." **

**Thomas could tell the boy was being less than honest but decided not to press him. **

_Newt _sent a look at _Chuck _who looked anywhere but at the blonde haired boy, they both knew that if _Thomas _was to have pressed the boy he would have finally cracked and told the other boy what exactly was going on possibly petrifying the boy even more.

"**Well, you don't want to see him, trust me." He continued to eat, munching on the apples as he studied the huge breaks in the walls. Though it was hard to make out from where he sat, there was something odd about the stone edges of the exits to the outside corridors.**

"Oh it's not the reason that it's the exits to a huge maze that we've tried to break for what? Only two years now." _Gally _shrugged sending a look towards _Thomas._

_Alby _sighed "that's enough you too. I swear on bloody klunk if you two don't shut your traps you will both have a week in the slammer and we will continue to read these books without you." He threatened.

Both boys sent a one last glare at each other, before _Gally _continued with the book.

**He felt an uncomfortable sense of vertigo looking at the towering walls, as if he hovered above them instead of sitting at their base. **

"Hover above them?" Newt asked confused, he rubbed his head tiredly. His medication weren't seeming to help him yet.

Jorge noticed this instantly "I think in a few more chapters we will take a break" he stated and all the others nodded.

Looking towards the sky _Minho _nodded "It will be dark soon anyway. So we might as well go to sleep."

Newt nodded sending an appreciative look towards Jorge who nodded in return.

Alby frowned in confusion, not sure as to what was up with his best friend. However, he didn't want to ask, his friend after all was entitled to a private life.

"**What's out there?" he asked, finally breaking the silence. "Is this part of a huge castle or something?" **

"I wish" _Newt _smiled grimly.

"We all wished" _Alby _rolled his eyes tiredly.

**Chuck hesitated. Looked uncomfortable. "Um, I've never been outside the Glade." **

"I very much prefer it inside the Glade thank you very much" _Chuck _said with a nervous chuckle.

"Don't worry we will get you running in no time" _Minho _chuckled evilly.

"Don't you start laughing now as well" _Brenda _pointed a threatening finger towards _Minho _who wanted to audibly gulp but resisted it, not wanting to show any weakness.

**Thomas paused. "You're hiding something," he finally replied, finishing off his last bite and taking a long swig of water.**

"You make it out as though you're drinking alcohol" Newt snorted with a shy smile on his face.

"And you would know about that how?" Janson had his mouth set in a grim line.

Newts smile immediately vanished choosing to look anywhere but at Janson, his hands wringing together nervously.

Thomas watched the exchange fascinated. What the hell was going on there?

**The frustration at getting no answers from anyone was starting to grind his nerves. It only made it worse to think that even if he did get answers, he wouldn't know if he'd be getting the truth. "Why are you guys so secretive?" **

"If we weren't so secretive, this book would be boring so far" Gally rolled his eyes. Thomas did the most sensible thing and stuck his tongue out at the older boy.

"**That's just the way it is. Things are really weird around here, and most of us don't know everything. Half of everything." **

"You really are a bad liar, you know that." _Teresa _raised her dark eyebrows at the younger boy whose chubby face went furiously red.

**It bothered Thomas that Chuck didn't seem to care about what he'd just said. That he seemed indifferent to having his life taken away from him. What was wrong with these people?**

"We have been spending the past two years stuck in a maze, with the same so many odd boys trying to get out of this shucking Glade with failure… Oh yeah also whilst trying to not get our arses shucking stung off be grievers" _Minho _said sarcastically.

"Are you ever not sarcastic?" _Teresa _asked with a roll of her eyes.

"Deal with it" _Minho _grounded through his teeth, he hadn't known this girl for long and she was already starting to piss him off.

**Thomas got to his feet and started walking toward the eastern opening. "Well, no one said I couldn't look around." He needed to learn something or he was going to lose his mind. **

"**Whoa, wait!" Chuck cried, running to catch up. "Be careful, those puppies are about to close." He already sounded out of breath. **

"Rock doors which open and close sound so cool" Chuck said excitedly.

"Do you want to take our places in here because feel free, I know I don't want to be here" _Newt _said to the younger boy.

Chuck looked at the older boy sympathetically shaking his head; he hated being in Glade high most of the times. In here would be so much worse.

"**Close?" Thomas repeated. "What are you talking about?" **

"**The Doors, you shank." **

"C'mon you can't tell me you thought they were doors when you first saw them" _Thomas _looked around the gladers hoping one of them will back him up.

Thankfully, being the nice person he is _Newt _did with downcast eyes "yeah we didn't know they were doors, so on the first day we had to watch Abe become juice on the floor by getting bloody squished by those shucking things."

Everyone paled, even the teachers had a horrified looks on their faces.

_Minho _and _Alby _just shivered, they couldn't have had a worst first day then that.

"**Doors? I don't see any doors." Thomas knew Chuck wasn't just making stuff up—he knew he was missing something obvious.**

"Maybe a giant hole which is in the walls" _Chuck _offered sarcastically earning a playful glare from _Thomas._

**He grew uneasy and realized he'd slowed his pace, not so eager to reach the walls anymore.**

"That happens to everybody except Chuck more or less just waddled to the doors rather than ran" _Alby _joked in a serious/playful tone.

"Is it pick on Chuck day or something?" _Chuck _asked bewildered with a huff, crossing his arms over his chest childishly.

"**What do you call those big openings?" Chuck pointed up at the enormously tall gaps in the walls. They were only thirty feet away now. **

"**I'd call them big openings," Thomas said, trying to counter his discomfort with sarcasm and disappointed that it wasn't working. **

"Sorry dude that only works for me" Minho smirked proudly, sitting up a tiny bit straighter.

"And there's nothing you can do about it" _Minho _agreed with a straight face.

"**Well, they're doors. And they close up every night." **

**Thomas stopped, thinking Chuck had to have said something wrong. He looked up, looked side to side, examined the massive slabs of stone as the uneasy feeling blossomed into outright dread. **

"**What do you mean, they close?" **

"Are you honestly that slow Tom?" Teresa rolled her eyes half-heartedly at her friend who stuck his tongue out at her childishly.

"**Just see for yourself in a minute. The Runners'll be back soon; then those big walls are going to move until the gaps are closed." **

"Thank shucking God as well" _Aris _sighed in relief, he would be a dead man if they didn't, they all would be dead men/women.

"**You're jacked in the head," Thomas muttered. He couldn't see how the mammoth walls could possibly be mobile—felt so sure of it he relaxed, thinking Chuck was just playing a trick on him.**

"That is not something to joke about in the Glade" _Chuck _told them in a dead serious tone.

_Thomas _didn't say anything, he knew very well now that stuff what could cause death was nothing to joke about, especially in the Glade where the chance of dying is multiplied by a million.

**They reached the huge split that led outside to more stone pathways. Thomas gaped, his mind emptying of thought as he saw it all first hand. **

"I know I would not be able to survive in there, it would drive me even loopier" Newt said wide eyed.

Jorge turned to look at his student "You're not loopy" he told the boy calmly.

Newt just shrugged, to him he was loopy… he was insane and he felt no one else knew how it felt to be like that.

"**This is called the East Door," Chuck said, as if proudly revealing a piece of art he'd created.**

"The walls are nothing to be proud of Chuck" _Newt _spoke like a wise old man, teaching the younger children right from wrong.

_Chuck _looked ashamed for a second before shrugging it off, everyone made mistakes.

**Thomas barely heard him, shocked by how much bigger it was up close. At least twenty feet across, the break in the wall went all the way to the top, far above. The edges that bordered the vast opening were smooth, except for one odd, repeating pattern on both sides.**

"We had to get you thinking even more somehow" _Janson _smirked evilly.

_Minho _was nearly shaking with pure anger; Rat Man was seriously starting to shuck him off. The whole maze was a test to use them like lab rats. If he carried on the way he did Rat Man will soon be getting a knuckle sandwich for lunch, from yours truly _Minho_.

**On the left side of the East Door, deep holes several inches in diameter and spaced a foot apart were bored into the rock, beginning near the ground and continuing all the way up. **

"That's weird" Brenda stated.

**On the right side of the Door, foot-long rods jutted out from the wall edge, also several inches in diameter, in the same pattern as the holes facing them on the other side. The purpose was obvious. "Are you kidding?" Thomas asked, the dread slamming back into his gut. "You weren't playing with me? The walls really move?"**

"This place just gets odder and odder the more we read about it" Alby stated and all the students and even teachers nodded in agreement.

"Trust me it's only going to get a whole lot odder." _Minho _told them in an unusual serious tone.

"**What else would I have meant?" **

**Thomas had a hard time wrapping his mind around the possibility. "I don't know. I figured there was a door that swung shut or a little mini-wall that slid out of the big one.**

"I can see your reasoning, but no" _Newt _chuckled.

**How could these walls move? They're huge, and they look like they've been standing here for a thousand years."**

"With a lot of noise" _Gally _cringed, he was used to the sound by now but that didn't mean he liked it.

**And the idea of those walls closing and trapping him inside this place they called the Glade was downright terrifying. **

"Better than being trapped out there" _Chuck _shivered pointing towards the closed doors.

All the students frowned in confusion as to what is actually out there, whatever it was it did not sound good in the slightest bit, the grievers sounded a whole lot worse than their caretaker.

**Chuck threw his arms up, clearly frustrated. "I don't know, they just move. Makes one heck of a grinding noise.**

All the gladers shivered, the noise of the doors were truly horrible.

**Same thing happens out in the Maze—those walls shift every night, too."**

"No wonder you can't find a shucking way out." Gally said in shock, thinking he would die on the first day if he himself and not his counterpart were in the glade.

**Thomas, his attention suddenly snapped up by a new detail, turned to face the younger boy. "What did you just say?" **

Both chucks face palmed themselves, there were truly shucking awful at keeping secrets.

"Remind me never to tell you anything" Gally looked over at Chuck who looked momentarily shocked then gave in with a nod of his chubby head.

"**Huh?" **

"**You just called it a maze—you said, 'same thing happens out in the maze.' " **

_Alby _leaned over and smacked _Chuck _lightly on the back of the head. "I knew we should have never trusted the Newbie with this slint head" the dark skinned boy grumbled.

**Chuck's face reddened. "I'm done with you. I'm done." He walked back toward the tree they'd just left. **

"Yeah as if I'm just going to forget" Thomas rolled his eyes. "As people has said once before we don't go to a school of high intellectuals for nothing."

Chuck grumbled under his breath, something which sounded distinctly as '"Pick on shucking Chuck day."

**Thomas ignored him, more interested than ever in the outside of the Glade. A maze? In front of him, through the East Door, he could make out passages leading to the left, to the right, and straight ahead. **

"Congratulations you're not an idiot" _Minho _exclaimed sarcastically making _Thomas _jump in fear.

"Oh shut up slint head" The boy chuckled pushing the Asian boy over onto the ground.

**And the walls of the corridors were similar to those that surrounded the Glade, the ground made of the same massive stone blocks as in the courtyard. The ivy seemed even thicker out there.**

"Comes in handy when you're hauling fatty up a wall" _Thomas _joked.

_Alby's _face reddened with rage, with a threatening finger he spoke "I swear to Shuck Thomas, if you don't shut you're god damn mouth about me being fat, which I'm not. You're going to spending the rest of your life in the slammer."

Most people had to hold their breaths to keep from laughing as _Alby's _chest raised and fell quickly in order to catch his breath.

After a moment of silence, "You're not exactly skinny either" _Thomas _muttered but because of the silence everybody could hear.

Furious laughter erupted throughout all the teenagers. However, _Alby _was shaking with pure loathing. He looked ready to strike at any moment.

**In the distance, more breaks in the walls led to other paths, and farther down, maybe a hundred yards or so away, the straight passage came to a dead end.**

"A runner in the making" _Newt _smiled.

"**Looks like a maze," Thomas whispered, almost laughing to himself. As if things couldn't have gotten any stranger.**

"The strangeness will soon continue" _Chuck _chuckled, nothing about the Glade could surprise him anymore.

**They'd wiped his memory and put him inside a gigantic maze. It was all so crazy it really did seem funny. **

"Doesn't sound funny at all so I don't know why you would have thought it funny" _Brenda _frowned, this boy was seriously confusing to her.

**His heart skipped a beat when a boy unexpectedly appeared around a corner up ahead, entering the main passage from one of the offshoots to the right, running toward him and the Glade. Covered in sweat, his face red, clothes sticking to his body,**

"That's disgusting" Teresa wrinkled her nose. She couldn't imagine anything worse than body odour on a man.

**the boy didn't slow, hardly glancing at Thomas as he went past. He headed straight for the squat concrete building located near the Box. **

"I can't say that I miss being a runner" _Newt _said truthfully, he misses the ability to be able to run properly but by no means the actual job. He preferred his job of being the glade 'mother'.

**Thomas turned as he passed, his eyes riveted to the exhausted runner, unsure why this new development surprised him so much. **

"Maybe because you were born to be a runner, even if you do heave up your lungs after every run" Aris said playfully.

Thomas rolled his eyes at the mixed raced boy, but couldn't help long for when they hopefully give him that cure. It wasn't easy being on the running team when the coach thinks you're going to collapse every 10 seconds due to your lungs not working properly.

**Why wouldn't people go out and search the maze? Then he realized others were entering through the remaining three Glade openings, all of them running and looking as ragged as the guy who'd just whisked by him.**

"Excuse me I do not look ragged" _Minho _raised one of his dark eyebrows at _Thomas _who just smiled.

**There couldn't be much good about the maze if these guys came back looking so weary and worn.**

"You try running for a day and not look worn out" _Minho _defended.

"I have" _Thomas _smirked.

"Sorry to burst your bubble but you look like klunk every day after you've ran." _Chuck _giggled.

"You can't be any worse than me, at least your lungs work sufficiently" Thomas gave a sad smile, his asthma stopped him from doing so much.

**He watched, curious, as they met at the big iron door of the small building; one of the boys turned the rusty wheel handle, grunting with the effort. Chuck had said something about runners earlier. What had they been doing out there? **

"Thomas" everyone groaned simultaneously.

"It's in the name" Brenda chuckled half-heartedly at the boy who was now flushed bright red in embarrassment.

**The big door finally popped open, and with a deafening squeal of metal against metal,**

"We really need to oil that door" _Minho _said thoughtfully.

"You think?" _Newt _shivered, even though that noise isn't half as bad as the maze doors.

**the boys swung it wide. They disappeared inside, pulling it shut behind them with a loud clonk. Thomas stared, his mind churning to come up with any possible explanation for what he'd just witnessed.**

"I'd rather you think of an explanation rather than me have to explain it… I hate newbie day" _Alby _groaned because it was his job as the leader to give the grand tour which meant loads of questions from the Newbies.

**Nothing developed, but something about that creepy old building gave him goose bumps, a disquieting chill. **

**Someone tugged on his sleeve, breaking him from his thoughts; Chuck had come back.**

"Can't hold a grudge that long can you?" Teresa smiled amusingly down at the boy.

**Before Thomas had a chance to think, questions were rushing out of his mouth. "Who are those guys and what were they doing? What's in that building?" He wheeled around and pointed out the East Door. "And why do you live inside a freaking maze?" He felt a rattling pressure of uncertainty, making his head splinter with pain. **

"I shall say it once again I hate shucking Newbie day because that's normally me everyone asks the questions to.

"I will take your place as leader if you want?" _Gally _offered an evil grin plastered onto his face,

"Oh shuck off Captain Gally" _Alby _seethed at the younger teen, that boy seriously shucked him off big time.

"**I'm not saying another word," Chuck replied, a new authority filling his voice. "I think you should get to bed early—you'll need your sleep. Ah"—he stopped, held up a finger, pricking up his right ear— "it's about to happen." **

"You could have told me first that the doors were going to close so my ears were not assaulted at first chance." _Thomas _rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry Tommy, we all went through it. It's unfair that we get to tell you and no one else especially since we didn't even know it happened the first time." _Newt _said with a roll of his eyes dramatically.

"**What?" Thomas asked, thinking it kind of strange that Chuck was suddenly acting like an adult instead of the little kid desperate for a friend he'd been only moments earlier. **

"Split personality, new me" Chuck laughed, knowing that, that could never happen to him in his universe.

**A loud boom exploded through the air, making Thomas jump. It was followed by a horrible crunching, grinding sound.**

All the gladers shivered that noise was truly awful, sounding like the scratching of nails on a chalk board.

**He stumbled backward, fell to the ground. It felt as if the whole earth shook; he looked around, panicked. The walls were closing. The walls were really closing—trapping him inside the Glade.**

"Better inside than out" _Gally _said shivering at the memory of when he broke rule number 3 and it ended him getting stung by a griever and go through the horrible changing.

**An onrushing sense of claustrophobia stifled him, compressed his lungs, as if water filled their cavities. **

"Now you know what it feels like to be me" Thomas raised an eyebrow at everyone, who didn't bother to argue with him because they all knew he was correct.

"**Calm down, Greenie," Chuck yelled over the noise. "It's just the walls!" **

**Thomas barely heard him, too fascinated, too shaken by the closing of the Doors. He scrambled to his feet and took a few trembling steps back for a better view, finding it hard to believe what his eyes were seeing. **

"Truly amazing isn't it" _Janson _said proudly as though he was talking about his own new born baby, instead of a death maze.

"Yeah truly inspirational" _Minho _said sarcastically as always. However, _Rat man_ didn't seem to notice or care.

**The enormous stone wall to the right of them seemed to defy every known law of physics**

"Science has always been controversial"

**as it slid along the ground, throwing sparks and dust as it moved, rock against rock. The crunching sound rattled his bones. Thomas realized that only that wall was moving, heading for its neighbour to the left,**

"They can bloody stay neighbours for all I care. I've not felt this safe in months." _Newt _nodded with the rest of the gladers agreeing with him.

**ready to seal shut with its protruding rods slipping into the drilled holes across from it. He looked around at the other openings. It felt like his head was spinning faster than his body, and his stomach flipped over with the dizziness. On all four sides of the Glade, only the right walls were moving, toward the left, closing the gap of the Doors. **

"I would absolutely hate that, I think that would have to be one of my worst nightmares." Teresa shivered.

**Impossible, he thought. How can they do that? He fought the urge to run out there, slip past the moving slabs of rock before they shut, flee the Glade.**

"No one wants to do that" _Alby _muttered sending a glare towards _Thomas._

"If I hadn't done that you wouldn't be here right now." _Thomas _countered earning a growl of annoyance from _Alby._

**Common sense won out—the maze held even more unknowns than his situation inside. **

**He tried to picture in his mind how the structure of it all worked. Massive stone walls, hundreds of feet high, moving like sliding glass doors—an image from his past life that flashed through his thoughts. **

"So soon?" _Newt _sounded shocked, it had taken most of the gladers quite a few months before they had the tiniest glimpse of their past lives. Yet _Thomas _had managed to do it on his first day.

**He tried to grasp the memory, hold on to it, complete the picture with faces, names, a place, but it faded into obscurity.**

Thomas shivered he would hate not knowing about his family, a pang of sadness pricked at his hear, swirling though all the emotions. He couldn't explain how much he missed his dad.

**A pang of sadness pricked through his other swirling emotions. **

**He watched as the right wall reached the end of its journey, its connecting rods finding their mark and entering without a glitch. An echoing boom rumbled across the Glade as all four Doors sealed shut for the night. **

"Also known as the time you feel safest when you're living in the glade." _Chuck _said.

**Thomas felt one final moment of trepidation, a quick slice of fear through his body, and then it vanished. **

"Well nothing you can do about it now, the walls are closed" _Minho _shrugged.

"You do know I have lived this, I do know what has happened and what has not" _Thomas _rolled his eyes. Most of the students and gladers laughed this point not actually thinking about that.

**A surprising sense of calm eased his nerves; he let out a long sigh of relief. "Wow," he said, feeling dumb at such a monumental understatement. **

"You will surely get kicked out of Glade high with that" Aris said in a mock serious tone.

"**Ain't nothin', as Alby would say,"**

_Alby _looked over at _Chuck _who started to cower behind _Thomas, _"I'm sorry I won't quote from you again."

"Good lad"

**Chuck murmured. "You kind of get used to it after a while."**

"I've been here two years and I still hate it." _Newt _shuddered.

**Thomas looked around one more time, the feel of the place completely different now that all the walls were solid with no way out. **

"The true feeling of there is no way out" _Jorge_ pursed his lips.

**He tried to imagine the purpose of such a thing, and he didn't know which guess was worse—that they were being sealed in or that they were being protected from something out there.**

"Wait till you hear what the grievers are like, you will just love them." _Minho _once again said in his sarcastic way.

**The thought ended his brief moment of calm, stirring in his mind a million possibilities of what might live in the maze outside, all of them terrifying. Fear gripped him once again.**

"I thought boys are meant to brave" Teresa questioned with a smirk on her face.

"Being brave and being fearless are not the same things" Newt answered for the other boy, making everyone turn to look at him.

"**Come on," Chuck said, pulling at Thomas's sleeve a second time. **

"**Trust me, when night time strikes, you want to be in bed." **

**Thomas knew he had no other choice. He did his best to suppress everything he was feeling and followed.**

"That's the end of the chapter" _Gally _said.

"I will read" Chuck offered and the book was passed to him. "Chapter 5"

* * *

_**I absolutely beg you guys, please review because the more reviews I get the more inspiration I have to write the next chapter, so it will be up sooner. **_

_**And after you've reviewed, you've now had many clues as to who it is Janson is talking about so please take the poll on my profile!**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hey people, sorry for taking so long to update. I have been beyond busy but I broke up for the Christmas holidays yesterday and I was determined to get this chapter finished from stopping and starting since updating the last chapter.**_

_**Warning: a bit of swearing in this chapter.**_

_**Disclaimer: I am female, I am not James Dashner**_

* * *

**They ended up near the back of the Homestead—that was what Chuck**

Chuck grimaced; it was weird talking about himself in third person. It was only now he realised that, that is how everyone who had previously read and is in this book must have felt.

**called the leaning structure of wood and windows—in a dark shadow between the building and the stone wall behind it. **

_Gally _glared at _Thomas _who just shook his head. _Thomas _didn't think of himself as a violent person but if that boy glared at him one more sodding time, whatever's left of the older boys rotting teeth would be knocked out by a mind blowing punch to the face.

"**Where are we going?" Thomas asked, still feeling the weight of seeing those walls close, thinking about the maze,**

All of a sudden Brenda burst into laughter.

All the gladers, students, teachers and scientists turned to look at her in confusion.

"What's so funny?" _Minho _quirked an eyebrow, looking at the girl as though she had gone completely bonkers.

"I totally forgot about it before, but now you said maze again" the girl couldn't continue her laughter taking the better of her.

Alby turned red in embarrassment, he knew what the girl was about to say. And trusting from the smirks of the other students and Jorge, they now remember as well. Newt couldn't help but burst out laughing as well, a contagious laugh that had everyone smirking/smiling even more.

"Does anyone care to enlighten us on this comical occasion" _Janson _rolled his eyes.

Thomas was about to open his mouth but was cut off by Alby's glare and "don't you even dare."

"Alby klunked himself in a scare maze" Minho blurted out, causing all the students to roar with hysterical laughter as Alby burned fire red. Glaring daggers at the Asian boy.

The gladers couldn't hold back their sniggers.

"What do you mean, I klunked myself, what the shuck is a scare maze?" _Alby _said in distress.

"Oh it wasn't that you were scared my good friend, no you actually did the business in the down end." Aris chuckled tears of mirth in his eyes.

"A scare maze is when you go through a sort of maze, not like the kind out there, but a set maze and people dress up to scare you. For example this one we went to was a zombie scare maze so you had loads of zombies running after you." Jorge explained to the gladers who roared into laughter, all except one.

"I'd rather have a zombie than a griever any day chase after me, a lot slower." _Newt _said seriously rubbing his hurt leg unconsciously bringing the mood to a low.

Everyone sat and stared at the blonde boy in sympathy, only _Alby _could have a slight suspicion that it wasn't the grievers who actually caused the injury. Only Newt didn't look on instead he stared at the floor feeling disgusted by himself. Both Newts must have gone through the same thing.

"In my defence it was coming out both ends, I am never eating shrimp again" Alby said his face hot; he had never had such bad food poisoning in his life.

**the confusion, the fear. He told himself to stop or he'd drive himself crazy. Trying to grasp a sense of normalcy, he made a weak attempt at a joke. "If you're looking for a goodnight kiss, forget it." **

**Chuck didn't miss a beat. "Just shut up and stay close." **

"Awwwww and I was looking so forward to that goodnight kiss as well" _Thomas _batted his eyelashes making the younger boy blush.

"Shut up slint head" _Chuck _chuckled playfully shoving the older boys shoulder gently.

**Thomas let out a big breath and shrugged before following the younger boy along the back of the building. They tiptoed until they came upon a small, dusty window, a soft beam of light shining through onto the stone and ivy.**

"Please tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing" Gally face palmed himself; he had been on the receiving end of this prank many times back in glade high.

Both Chucks just laughed evilly, making the older students/gladers smirk.

**Thomas heard someone moving around in-side. **

_Gally _pursed his lips; he was always on the receiving end on everyone's jokes.

"**The bathroom," Chuck whispered. **

"**So?" A thread of unease stitched along Thomas's skin. **

"**I love doing this to people.**

"Do you not know how perverted that sounds, when you're standing outside a bathroom" Teresa laughed causing the two young boys faces to burst into flames of embarrassment.

"You and your filthy mind" Aris said in disgust.

Teresa just winked at him, causing Thomas to frown in confusion. That girl had so many mixed signals to everyone.

**Gives me great pleasure before bedtime."**

Now the _Newt's_ laughed. "Sorry Chuckie that does sound really wrong" the glader said.

"Immensely wrong" The student continued.

"**Doing what?" Something told Thomas Chuck was up to no good.**

All the students wrinkled their noses.

"Get your mind out of the gutters, I'm only bloody twelve years old" Chuck shouted throwing the book at Minho whose nose was still wrinkled. The book successfully hit the boys head with a thunk.

"Oi you little shucking" Minho roared throwing the book as hard as he could back at the young boy.

Chuck saw that Minho has angry and immediately went into the armadillo stance with his bottom right in the air and his hands on his head. The book hit Chucks butt with a loud crack making Chuck fall flat on the floor in pain.

"I've been shot" Chuck wailed, his hands covering his sore bum.

After a lot of laughter, Chuck laid on his front and continued to read.

"**Maybe I should—" **

"**Just shut your mouth and watch." Chuck quietly stepped up onto a big wooden box that sat right under the window. He crouched so that his head was positioned just below where the person on the inside would be able to see him. **

"Pervert" _Gally _grumbled.

**Then he reached up with his hand and lightly tapped on the glass.**

A few of the students began to snigger as both Gally's started to turn bright red.

"**This is stupid," Thomas whispered. There couldn't possibly be a worse time to play a joke**

"It's always the wrong time to play a joke on me" Gally tried to defend himself but the only result was sniggers.

—**Newt or Alby could be in there.**

"If you did that to me you would be dead" _Alby _threatened at the young boy who gulped in fear.

Newt subconsciously rubbed a hand up one of his arms, thank god that it wasn't him in the bathroom and they could see his scars… all: self-harmed, medical and something else…

"**I don't wanna get in trouble—I just got here!" **

"Awwww poor sweet innocent Thomas, what the shuck happened?" Brenda giggled sticking her tongue out at the boy she liked.

**Chuck suppressed a laugh by putting his hand over his mouth. **

**Ignoring Thomas, he reached up and tapped the window again. **

**A shadow crossed the light; then the window slid open.**

Jorge face palmed himself, is this really what his students get up to in their spare time. "you're all delinquents"

"But you still love us" Brenda smirked earning a sigh from her teacher/father figure.

**Thomas jumped to hide, pressing himself against the back of the building as hard as he could. He just couldn't believe he'd been suckered into playing a practical joke on somebody.**

"Namely me" _Gally _grumbled.

"In my defence I didn't want to do it, also I didn't know it was you" _Thomas _muttered downcast, he did nothing wrong yet the boy had to blame him for everything that went wrong in the glade.

"So what? I bet you still would have done it if you did know it was me in the bathroom" The older boys face reddened with anger.

Once again their student counterparts shared a look of concern. It was so weird to see the glade versions of themselves fighting so much. Yeah they bicker but nothing to the extent of their other selves.

"Will you two shut up" _Janson _hissed angrily at the two who immediately shut up. However, the glaring continued.

**The angle of vision from the window protected him for the moment,**

"Sneaky little buggars" Janson hissed to himself, he hated children. Most of the time he wondered why he was actually in that job industry. Though then again, Janson smirked evilly, Glade high was no ordinary school. One day these students will make him rich… Even the orphan…

**but he knew he and Chuck would be seen if whoever was in there pushed his head outside to get a better look. **

"**Who's that!" yelled the boy from the bathroom, his voice scratchy and laced with anger.**

"I wonder why" _Gally _growled only this time his glare was placed at _Chuck _who started to shake a tiny bit with fear.

"Cool it Gally" _Alby _warned his eyes fixed on the black haired boy who just sneered at the youngest lad and turned away with a huff. Bringing his legs up to his chest and resting his arms on top of them as though bored.

**Thomas had to hold in a gasp when he realized it was Gally—he knew that voice already.**

"Do you mind me asking, but why is your voice actually so raspy?" Brenda asked interested but in a polite way.

_Gally _sent her a glare of pure death, but Gally just smiled kindly revealing his braced teeth.

"Naaaa I don't mind." Gally waved it off. "I used to be a choir boy when I was younger, I sang so much that I formed a cyst on my vocal chords and even after it got removed my voice had never been the same since" Gally shrugged.

All the students and gladers didn't know whether to laugh or not. The thought of Gally being a choir boy was just so funny but at the same time his story was quite sad.

"Can you still sing?" Minho asked a look of deep thought on his face.

"Yeah a bit, not like I used to… My balls have dropped too much to do that" Gally winked and all the students burst out into laughter whilst the gladers just blushed not knowing what that term meant but no way in hell did it sound right.

"He must have some weird looking balls" _Alby _whispered in _Newts _ears making the younger boy snort into his hand and look over at _Gally _who had turned an ugly shade of puce.

**Without warning, Chuck suddenly popped his head up toward the window and screamed at the top of his lungs. A loud crash from inside revealed that the trick had worked**

"You are a group of intellectuals, stop wasting your talents on such nonsense and start working." Janson sneered at the laughing students.

"Adrian, you were a teenager once give the kids some slack" Jorge tried to defend them but it was no use. He might as well have spoken to a dry wall.

Keeping his voice low, Janson hissed in his younger colleague's ear "Our future depends on these children. We cannot afford to give them some as you put it 'slack.'"

Jorge looked down in frustration; he knew these kids were important. He just wished the older teacher would allow them to live their lives now; they definitely won't be able to later.

—**and the litany of swearwords following it let them know Gally was none too happy about it.**

"No shuck Sherlock" Minho barked with laughter, stamping his foot on the ground. He had given his fair share of frights and been on the receiving end of a few. However, no one seemed to do it anymore to him considering last time someone had scared him (Aris) scared him the boy had spent the whole night sleeping in a tree after Minho sent Griever on him. No one liked to get freaked out.

**Thomas was struck with an odd mix of horror and embarrassment. **

"You're embarrassed? How the shuck do you think I felt?" _Gally _roared making _Teresa_ jump and wince at the sound.

"Oi slint head, do you mind keeping it down" Alby rolled his eyes. That boy can be so over the top sometimes in this different world.

"**I'm gonna kill you, shuck-face!" Gally yelled, but Chuck was already off the box and running**

"Oh my shucking God" Brenda gasped.

"Chuck you're running" _Newt _continued a hand over his heart as though his heart was failing from shock.

**toward the open Glade. Thomas froze as he heard Gally open the door inside and run out of the bathroom. Thomas finally snapped out of his daze and took off after his new—and only—friend.**

"Hey" both Newts objected simultaneously. They were his friend.

**He'd just rounded the corner when Gally came screaming out of the Homestead, looking like a ferocious beast on the loose. **

"I am not sure whether to take that as a complement or not" Gally scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Just take it as a complement" Thomas smirked with a roll of his eyes.

**He immediately pointed at Thomas. "Come here!" he yelled.**

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Both Thomas' said in unison a smirk on their faces.

"Yes" Newt answered with a shy wink earning looks of betrayal from both Thomas'.

**Thomas's heart sank in surrender.**

"So powerful" Minho spoke with such passion balling his hand into a fist and putting the enclosed fist to his chest. His eyes were shut tightly.

"I'd rather surrender at something like this rather than what bad things could happen in the future" _Brenda _said in an almost warning tone, earning a death glare from _Janson_.

**Everything seemed to indicate that he'd be getting a fist in the face.**

"Don't worry Green bean, Gally's like that to everyone at the start" _Newt _chuckled with a shake of his head.

"I'm no longer a green bean you know" _Thomas _smiled his eyes fixed on the floor.

"You are to me Tommy" _Newt _winked.

All of a sudden _Alby _had the most peculiar feeling in his stomach. Narrowing his eyes at the brown haired boy, he had come to the decision he didn't like the new glader half as much as he did before.

"**It wasn't me, I swear,"**

"That really does not sound believable, trust me I know… You've done it to me hundreds of times" Jorge rolled his eye at his student causing Thomas to blush brick red.

**he said, though as he stood there, he sized the boy up and realized he shouldn't be so terrified after all. Gally wasn't that big—**

"Size is very deceitful, even the tallest and strongest of us can break" _Newt _said staring at nothing in particular.

This caused everyone to frown with confusion except the other Newt whose eyes started to water slightly but he brushed them away before anyone noticed.

**Thomas could actually take him if he had to. **

"HA I'd like to see you try" Gally burst out laughing having to clutch his stomach to try and stop his shakes of laughter. "I'm head of the boxing club"

"Anytime, anywhere Wagner" Thomas smirked.

Gally's laughs stopped abruptly at the sound of his second name causing all the other students to laugh and cause the gladers foreheads to crease with confusion… Wagner?

"**Wasn't you?" Gally snarled. He ambled up to Thomas slowly and stopped right in front of him.**

"How come you two don't like each other?" Gally asked in wonder at his counterpart.

"It's a long story" _Gally _sent his other part a look which clearly said they will talk about this at a later date.

"**Then how do you know there was something you didn't do?" **

"This is why you're top of the detention list, because even when you didn't do it you come out with statements like you did before" Jorge laughed humorously falling onto his back.

**Thomas didn't say anything. He was definitely uncomfortable but not nearly as scared as a few moments earlier. **

"It's weird to think people are scared of me" Gally sniggered.

"No one's afraid of you, they're afraid of him" _Chuck _motioned with his head to _Gally._

"It's the teeth" _Minho _grimaced running his tongue over his perfectly straight ones.

"I wonder who's to blame for me having fewer teeth than everyone else" _Gally _hissed venomously.

"NO ONE TAKES FOOD FROM MINHO" _Minho _shouted and the students couldn't help but snort, thinking of Joey from the TV show Friends.

"**I'm not a dong, Greenie,"**

"That's what you think" Teresasnorted hoping people would laugh to no avail.

"You know you're laughing at your own joke" Brendarolled her eyes at her friend; she can be a dope at times.

"Even the other version of yourself isn't even laughing" _Aris _chuckled.

**Gally spat. "I saw Chuck's fat face in the window."**

"HEYYYY, I'm not fat… I'm just not skinny" _Chuck_ huffed folding his arms across his chest in annoyance… maybe he ought to try and start losing some weight.

**He pointed again, this time right at Thomas's chest. "But you better decide right quick who you want as your friends and enemies, hear me?**

"In our world we're friends and in yours we're enemies" Thomas pointed out; it was odd how the worlds work. Surely, the mess up with the space time continuum.

**One more trick like that—I don't care if it's your sissy idea or not—there'll be blood spilled.**

"Hurt Chuck the only blood that will be spilled will be yours" _Thomas _threatened his voice low and dangerous.

Minho looked on gobsmacked he had never heard his friend sound so… dangerous.

**You got that, Newbie?" **

**But before Thomas could answer Gally'd already turned to walk away.**

"Oooooooooh bad man" Alby taunted childishly making both Gally's roll their eyes. Some leader he is.

**Thomas just wanted this episode over.**

"The Thomas Hunter Show! The person who gives you advice you should never take on board" Minho shouted in a presenter type voice.

"What you talking about, my advice is very logical" Thomas asked in fake shock.

"That's as believable as saying Newt has a vagina" Minho said making both Newt's blush though couldn't help chuckling.

"You're a right crude sod" _Alby _said in disgust, though he had to admit it would probably make life a whole lot easier if _Newt _was female.

"**Sorry," he muttered, wincing at how stupid it sounded. **

"The days where you were actually polite" _Newt _raised an eyebrow at _Thomas._

"I'm always polite" Thomas defended himself with a lousy huff.

"**I know you," Gally added without looking back. "I saw you in the Changing,**

Gally looked over shocked, even more now anticipating his and his counter parts conversation.

**and I'm gonna figure out who you are." **

"I'm Thomas Dylan Hunter, top of the running team, failure flirt, generally nice guy unless you mess with one of my friends" Thomas explained with an arch of his eyebrow, a wry smirk on his face.

"That is 100 percent of I don't give a klunk" _Gally _rolled his eyes.

"You are a failure flirt, we can all agree on that" Teresa giggled sticking her tongue out at Thomas who blushed he was only saying it as a joke... Well that hadn't gone as expected.

**Thomas watched as the bully**

"I'm not a bully, Janson is a shucking bully" Gally shivered Professor Janson really gave him the creeps.

**disappeared back into the Homestead. He couldn't remember much, but something told him he'd never disliked someone so strongly.**

"The feeling's mutual"

**He was surprised by how much he truly hated the guy. He really, really hated him.**

"God that's a lot of hate" Newt whistled, wondering if the bullies who used to pick on him ever hated him that much. The chances were most likely.

**He turned to see Chuck standing there, staring at the ground, clearly embarrassed. "Thanks a lot, buddy." **

Thomas grabbed Chuck, making the book fall from the young boys hands, pulling him into a fierce but loving hug.

"I love you too buddy" Thomas said now hugging Chuck as through he was a giant fluffy teddy bear.

"I never said I loved you, you big klunking bafoon" Chuck gasped trying to get Thomas to stop squeezing him from fear of bursting. "Stop it I'm going to pee myself if you keep squeezing" the boy screamed.

Thomas just laughed but obediently let go of the younger boy who got up looking round crazily in order to find somewhere to pee.

"Go into the forest and pee on a tree" _Minho _shouted at the boy who was now bouncing on the spot.

"I ain't going in there it's always people who wear red who die first in horror movies from walking into forests" Chuck motioned towards his shirt which was bright red.

"Chuck just go and you're wrong, it's the blondes who get killed off first" Newt rolled his eyes whilst pointing at his own shaggy blonde hair.

Chuck just nodded sprinting off towards the forest to relieve himself.

"I don't know what horror shows you've been watching, but it's definitely always the black people who die first" Alby laughed rubbing his dark hands together.

Aris rolled his eyes "That's only because they are the ones who have the balls to actually go towards the creepy room."

"Or die of the cold" Newt nudged Alby with his elbow. (A/N: This is coming from the most hilarious stories ever which are true… I'll tell you at the end… I just don't want you to think I'm a racist because I'm not)

"I want to watch one of these horror movies" _Minho _cried with laughter, he wanted to see which one was true.

Chuck came running back looking a whole lot more relaxed than before he went. Picking up the book he continued reading.

"**Sorry—if I'd known it was Gally, I never would've done it, I swear."**

"Sure you wouldn't have" _Gally _rolled his eyes at the young boy who looked at the older boy in fear.

**Surprising himself, Thomas laughed. An hour ago, he'd thought he'd never hear such a sound come out of his mouth again. **

"Pessimist" Teresa coughed.

**Chuck looked closely at Thomas and slowly broke into an uneasy grin. "What?"**

"You did look pretty hysterical" _Chuck _chuckled into his hands.

**Thomas shook his head. "Don't be sorry. The . . . shank deserved it, and I don't even know what a shank is. That was awesome." He felt much better. **

"Come to think of it… I still don't know what a shank means" _Thomas _shook his head in disbelief, the amount of times he's said it now but didn't actually know the true meaning of the word.

"We made it up instead of the word skank because as we are not allowed to swear in school we made up our own language, so yeah that's what we had it as" Alby explained with a raise of one of his dark eyebrows in amusement "though that's only when we talk about bullies or people we don't really like other than that it means friend or fellow".

"So that's why you use that odd foreign language" Janson frowned angrily making all the students gulp in fear.

"What do the others mean?" _Jorge _asked interested earning a look of betrayal from both Janson's and laughter from the students.

"Shuck?" _Newt _asked.

"Fuck" Newt answered.

"Slint head?" _Gally _questioned.

"Dick head" Gally told his counterpart.

"Slim it?" _Chuck _chuckled.

"Calm the fuck down or shut the fuck up" Chuck laughed.

"Jacked" _Thomas _asked with a raised brow.

"Loonpot though that one isn't too bad" Thomas explained.

"Stick?" _Aris _asked and all the gladers looked around at the boy confused, whilst all the students laughed and Aris turned bright red.

"What the shuck is a stick?" _Minho _grunted quizzically.

"Neeeeeeeeeeever mind" _Aris _said and to save the boy from further embarrassment Chuck started to continue with the book.

**A couple of hours later, Thomas was lying in a soft sleeping bag next to Chuck on a bed of grass near the gardens. It was a wide lawn that he hadn't noticed before,**

"How can you not notice, it's not as though you have a long way to look?" Minho laughed looking around at his surroundings good naturedly.

"I don't know, it wasn't as though I was distracted by not having my memory, waking up in an elevator" _Thomas _started in a sarcastic tone.

"Lift" Newt coughed.

"Whatever, being greeted by about two dozen guys all calling me names like Newbie and Greenie and then finding out I am actually living in the middle of a gigantic maze with things what make weird noises on the outside." _Thomas _inhaled deeply trying to catch his breath before continuing. "Oh yeah and did I forget to mention I saw a human zombie and having to put up with this slint head." _Thomas _motioned over to _Gally _who turned red with anger.

"That's why you should never listen to Gally" _Newt _shaked his head with annoyance.

Minho just gave a long whistle. He wasn't expecting that answer and for the very first time in his life he was speechless.

**and quite a few of the group chose it as their bedtime spot.**

"And now for the bedtime story" Jorge cooed at his students pinching his adoptive daughters cheek making Brenda squirm.

"Joooooooooorge" Brenda wined in annoyance hitting Jorge's dark tanned hand away from her face making everyone chuckle.

**Thomas thought that was strange, but apparently there wasn't enough room inside the Homestead.**

"Death trap" _Thomas _coughed earning yet another glare of pure hatred from _Gally._

**At least it was warm. Which made him wonder for the millionth time where they were.**

_Newt _opened his mouth about to ask the question a lot of them wanted to know the answer to, but immediately shut it when _Brenda _held up a finger with a shake of her head "That's classified information, sorry Newt" she apologised sincerely though giving a brief scared glance .

_Newt _just nodded looking downhearted, as like most of the other gladers who wanted to get out of the maze. In other words all of them.

**His mind had a hard time grasping names of places, or remembering countries or rulers, how the world was organized.**

"It has been so long that I don't even give a shuck about that anymore" _Newt _groaned in internal pain.

"I never did in the first place" _Minho _snorted and the Minho couldn't help but laugh he was never one for Geography or History. He can read a map and that's about it.

**And none of the kids in the Glade had a clue, either—at least, they weren't sharing if they did.**

"Nope none of us and trust me I know, everybody tells me everything."Newt said knowing it was the same for his counterpart from the wry smirk on his face.

"That's because you're the glade mother" _Alby _rolled his eyes sarcastically.

**He lay in silence for the longest time, looking at the stars and listening to the soft murmurs of various conversations drifting across the Glade.**

"Frickin stalker" Teresa stuck her tongue out at Thomas who just tutted with a roll of his eyes but there is no mistaking the light blush on his cheeks.

**Sleep felt miles away, and he couldn't shake the despair and hopelessness**

"At least one of us is hopeful" _Chuck _remarked a sad smile on his face.

**that coursed through his body and mind— the temporary joy of Chuck's trick on Gally had long since faded away.**

"That didn't last long" Gally snorted humorously earning a tongue stick out from Thomas.

**It'd been one endless—and strange—day. **

"Only got stranger" _Thomas _whispered to himself getting chuckles from _Minho _and _Chuck _in response.

**It was just so . . . weird. He remembered lots of little things about life—eating, clothes, studying, playing, general images of the makeup of the world.**

"But you can't remember yourselves in it" Newt frowned in sadness looking at the gladers who all sullenly shook their heads.

_Brenda _and _Jorge _exchanged a look of despair, even though what wicked was trying to achieve was good. They were doing this in completely the wrong way.

_Janson _sighed frustrated, they just needed to get over this and carry on with the experiments… He wasn't sure how much time he had left; he knew time had temporarily frozen in his body so the flare isn't going to eat at his mind. However, every minute they waste in here reading this book which may or may not give them the answers, the less time they have to figure out the cure.

**But any detail that would fill in the picture to create a true and complete memory had been erased somehow.**

Newt shivered in disgust, he would hate if that happened to him. He may not have had the most fantastic life so far, but that doesn't mean he would want to forget any of it. There are an equal amount of good times so override the bad.

**It was like looking at an image through a foot of muddy water. More than anything else, perhaps, he felt . . . sad. **

"I could understand why. Not being able to remember your families must be awful" Teresa said in all seriousness. The thought of not remembering her parents or brother and all the good times they had would just kill her. She loved her family a lot, even when her older brother does get on her nerves.

**Chuck interrupted his thoughts. "Well, Greenie, you survived First Day."**

"Barely" Brenda remarked making the students and gladers to chuckle whilst both Thomas' blushed cherry red in embarrassment.

"**Barely."**

Brenda and Thomas looked at each other and blushed cherry red as all the students roared with laughter, well all except Teresa who was looking at her friend with a frown on her face.

"I know who I'm shipping from now on: Bromas or Trenda" Minho winked at Thomas whose eyes widened and punched Minho on the shoulder.

"Awwwww he's embarrassed." Chuck cooed pinching Thomas' cheek.

_Thomas _and _Brenda _locked eyes oblivious to the mockery what was happening to their counterparts both had a slight blush on their faces as they averted their eyes.

**Not now, Chuck, he wanted to say. I'm not in the mood.**

"But you wouldn't because you love me" Both Chucks said in sync with each other causing Minho to laugh.

"You will never change Chuck" he patted the very much smaller boy on the shoulder.

**Chuck pulled himself up to lean on an elbow, looking at Thomas. **

"**You'll learn a lot in the next couple of days, start getting used to things. Good that?"**

"Did I have a choice?" Thomas questioned the gladers.

"Nope" every single glader said simultaneously, all their faces devoid of emotion.

"**Um, yeah, good that, I guess. Where'd all these weird words and phrases come from, anyway?" It seemed like they'd taken some other language and melded it with his own. **

"Why did you? we did it because of ratman over here as we said before" Alby gestured over to Janson whose face was vivid red with boiled up anger.

"Don't really know, we all got to saying bloody because of Newt" _Alby _said gesturing over to his blonde friend who saluted to them. "And then we just really carried on with saying klunk for poo and stuff like that because of the noise it makes." The dark skinned boy explained a frown creasing the middle of his eyebrows.

**Chuck flopped back down with a heavy flump. "I don't know— I've only been here a month, remember?" **

**Thomas wondered about Chuck, whether he knew more than he let on.**

_Chuck _tapped the side of his nose with a smirk but other than that said and did nothing.

**He was a quirky kid, funny, and he seemed innocent, but who was to say? Really he was just as mysterious as everything else in the Glade. **

"Yeah I' actually criminal mastermind" Chuck rolled his eyes.

"And Gally's a first class escort" Minho burst out into laughter soon followed by the other students including Gally and Jorge and most of the gladers.

_Gally _turned bright red in embarrassment or anger no one could tell.

**A few minutes passed, and Thomas felt the long day finally catch up to him, the leaded edge of sleep crossing over his mind. But— like a fist had shoved it in his brain and let go**

"You're very inventive Mr Hunter" Janson remarked an impressed smile on his face which made Thomas want to vomit.

"So I've been told" Thomas raised a defiant brow at his science teacher.

—**a thought popped into his head. One that he didn't expect, and he wasn't sure from where it came. **

**Suddenly, the Glade, the walls, the Maze—it all seemed . . . familiar.**

All the students and gladers turned to look at _Thomas _in amazement whilst _Janson _had an evil smile spreading across his whole face like the Cheshire cat.

"Do you know why?" _Newt _asked curiously edging at bit closer to _Thomas _who shook his head in the negative.

"I'm sure we'll find out" Alby said sternly nodding for Chuck to continue with reading.

**Comfortable. A warmth of calmness spread through his chest, and for the first time since he'd found himself there, he didn't feel like the Glade was the worst place in the universe.**

"I've been here two years, I know it's the worse place in the universe" _Newt _whispered in a cold voice to himself.

"You don't know what it's like on the outside" _Brenda _hadoverheard what the boy said and spoke. All the gladers gulped in fear, the outside world is worse than the glade?

**He stilled, felt his eyes widen, his breathing stop for a long moment. **_**What just happened**_**? he thought. What changed? Ironically, the feeling that things would be okay made him slightly uneasy. **

"Makes me very uneasy" _Alby _frowned at _Thomas_ his dark eyes making _Thomas _feel that the older boy was trying to stare into his soul.

**Not quite understanding how, he knew what he needed to do. He didn't get it. The feeling—the epiphany—was a strange one, foreign and familiar at the same time. But it felt . . . right.**

"De ja vu to an extreme" Thomas joked though no one laughed, this was no laughing matter.

"**I want to be one of those guys that goes out there," he said aloud, not knowing if Chuck was still awake. "Inside the Maze." **

"You are the craziest shank I have ever met" _Minho _said in amazement.

"This has only just registered to you?" Aris remarked, Thomas in there world has always been a nutter.

"**Huh?" was the response from Chuck. Thomas could hear a tinge of annoyance in his voice.**

"Naaaaa that wasn't annoyance man. That was a huh of ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR SHUCKING HEAD" _Chuck _roared making everyone jump.

"Bloody hell chuck use your inner voice" Newt complained after almost suffering from a minor heart attack after the outburst.

"**Runners," Thomas said, wishing he knew where this was coming from. "Whatever they're doing out there, I want in." **

"Crazy" Minho coughed into his hand.

"**You don't even know what you're talking about," Chuck grumbled, and rolled over. "Go to sleep."**

"You should listen to Chuck for once in your life" Alby said looking between the two Thomas'.

"If I had listened to Chuck your counterpart would be long dead by now and so would Minho" _Thomas _said with a raise of his eyebrow shocking the older boy and making Newt twitch in shock.

"What?" Alby asked looking angry, he had his fist balled ready to punch someone.

"You'll see" was all _Thomas _said.

**Thomas felt a new surge of confidence, even though he truly didn't know what he was talking about. "I want to be a Runner." **

"I bet running in the maze is a whole lot different than running track" Thomas whispered looking over at his PE teacher who nodded in positive.

**Chuck turned back and got up on his elbow. "You can forget that little thought right now." **

**Thomas wondered at Chuck's reaction, but pressed on. "Don't try to—" **

"You are really persistent" _Brenda _face palmed her forehead looking at _Thomas _who just shrugged childishly.

"**Thomas. Newbie. My new friend. Forget it."**

"It hurts your lack of faith in me" Thomas said rubbing away a fake tear from his eye.

"Oh shut up" Chuck playfully nudged his older friend in the ribs.

"**I'll tell Alby tomorrow." A Runner, Thomas thought. I don't even know what that means. Have I gone completely insane? **

"Better off asking Newt mate, he has Alby wrapped around his little finger most of the time" _Minho _laughed manically.

Newt smirked at Alby knowing it was pretty much the same in their world… most of the time.

**Chuck lay down with a laugh. "You're a piece of klunk. Go to sleep." **

**But Thomas couldn't quit. "Something out there— it feels familiar." **

"You don't understand how much you scared me that night" _Chuck _said in all seriousness, his eyes reflecting his past worry.

"**Go . . . to . . . sleep." **

**Then it hit Thomas—he felt like several pieces of a puzzle had been put together. He didn't know what the ultimate picture would be, but his next words almost felt like they were coming from someone else. "Chuck, I . . . I think I've been here before." **

"Maybe you have" _Janson _grinned evilly making _Thomas _gasp. Could he know something about the extent of this?

**He heard his friend sit up, heard the intake of breath. But Thomas rolled over and refused to say another word, worried he'd mess up this new sense of being encouraged, eradicate the reassuring calm that filled his heart. **

**Sleep came much more easily than he'd expected.**

"That's the end of the chapter" Chuck noted putting down the book.

"Give it here I'll read next" _Janson _said snatching the book away from the young boy.

* * *

_**So what did you think? Was it worth the long wait?**_

_**Okay guys I have two weeks off and the more you review the greater chance I will update again within this holiday. so...**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

_**p.s. thank you for all the people who have reviewed in the last chapters, you guys literally make my day and I try take on the constructive criticism as best as I can :)**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer: I am not James Dashner, making no profit at all.**_

_**So sorry for being gone so long. I have been really busy lately with exams and everything but decided to take a bit of a break from revising in order to finish this chapter.**_

* * *

**Someone shook Thomas awake. His eyes snapped open to see a too-close face staring down at him, **

"Newt" Alby sighed rolling his eyes half-heartedly, the amount of times his friend had woken him up like that he couldn't even count.

**everything around them still shadowed by the darkness of early morning. He opened his mouth to speak but a cold hand clamped down on it, gripping it shut.**

"Did you actually think through how creepy that was?" _Thomas _shuddered, he remembered clearly the panic that flared through his body and the relief when he realised it was _Newt._

"Oh yes he does, he does it purposefully" Minho grumbled, almost everyone had been on the victim of one of Newt's sleep sneak attacks.

"Life wouldn't be fun if you didn't have a fright once in a while" Newt laughed comically, a laugh which made both Alby's smile.

**Panic flared until he saw who it was.**

"**Shh, Greenie. Don't wanna be wakin' Chuckie, now, do we?"**

"My God the pronunciation of you lot is atrocious" _Janson _complained wrinkling his nose with disgust.

"Be thankful you only have to deal with them on a screen, I have to be with them up close" Janson huffed glaring at his students.

"Operation slang was a success" Alby and Minho high fived each other with grins, not even looking at each other.

Janson's eyes bulged, causing _Jorge _to laugh humorously. He wished he was part of that plan in his world just so he could annoy his colleague. He doesn't hate _Janson_, nor did he like him though.

**It was Newt—the guy who seemed to be second in command;**

"Correction – is second in command" _Newt _confirmed with a dramatic nod of the head.

"I know now shuck face" _Thomas _snorted slapping the taller boy on the arm playfully.

**the air reeked of his morning breath.**

Newt's eyes widened, breathing onto his hand and then sniffed. His breath didn't reek.

"Water doesn't come on until a certain time some days" _Newt _reassured his other self-laughing at the worry in his eyes (which was very weird considering they were completely identical to his own.) "Unlike Gally I do brush my teeth every day."

_Gally's _head jerked upwards, turning towards _Newt _he… snarled?

Everyone was in complete silence; some of the gladers/students were holding their breath to keep from laughing.

"What. The. Hell. Was. That?" _Brenda _spoke her jaw dropped in disbelief. She couldn't have actually heard someone snarl at another person. It sounded too animalistic to come from a human teenager.

"This is why I'm so good at Drama and Music, from the noises I can make" Gally laughed.

**Though Thomas was surprised, any alarm melted away immediately. He couldn't help being curious, wondering what this boy wanted with him.**

"Maybe something naughty" Teresa giggled making both Newt's blush with embarrassment.

"Naaaa he saves that for Alby only" _Minho_ winked making both of the Newts if possible blush even more.

**Thomas nodded, doing his best to say yes with his eyes, until Newt finally took his hand away, then leaned back on his heels.**

"**Come on, Greenie," the tall boy**

"I'm not that tall" Newt huffed, with a roll of his eyes.

"Dude you're easily the tallest here and you've not even finished growing yet" Aris looked at him bewildered; he hardly even came up to the boys shoulder.

_Newt _smirked at that whilst the other Newt frowned. _'Don't think I'll be able to grow anymore, even if my counterpart can' _Newt thought sadly. Though already being 6 foot 3 he would like to be taller.

"What's the matter Rodgers?" Janson asked making Newt frown even more but this time in anger, Janson fully knew what was up with him.

"Nothing" Newt replied curtly.

"Rodgers?" _Newt _raised an eyebrow at his modern self.

"My surname" Newt replied with a smile, he did like his surname because it went with almost all names.

**whispered as he stood. He reached down and helped Thomas to his feet—he was so strong it felt like he could rip Thomas's arm off.**

_Alby _snorted "Newt's never known his own strength."

"And how would you know that?" _Aris _wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

"From getting punched on the arm so many times" _Alby _replied in all seriousness rubbing his right arm which seemed to be the subject of these hits.

"**Supposed to show ya somethin' before the wake-up."**

"Ooooh I wonder what?" Chuck said smiling eagerly.

"If you'd just shut up and listen you will soon find out" _Janson _hissed. Had he already mentioned he hated children?

All the students didn't even bother to say anything back, they were too interested in what _Newt _was about to show them. They needed to learn everything they can about the maze, because for some reason these books are going to affect their future.

**Any lingering haze of sleep had already vanished from Thomas's mind. **

"Wish it would happen so easily for school" Thomas murmured earning a joking poke to the ribs from Minho.

"You will literally take any chance to complain" Minho laughed.

"**Okay," he said simply, ready to follow. He knew he should hold some suspicion, having no reason to trust anyone yet, but the curiosity won out. He quickly leaned over and slipped on his shoes. "Where are we going?"**

"I would so like you to say into the maze but I really doubt that it would be that" Brenda breathed bringing her legs up so she could hug them.

Thomas looked at her and couldn't help biting his lip; he had never really appreciated it before how beautiful Brenda actually is. Shaking himself out of this he thought _'I can't think like this, she's one of my best friends.'_

"**Just follow me. And stay close."**

**They snuck their way through the tightly strewn pack of sleeping bodies, Thomas almost tripping several times.**

"You are one of the most unsubtle people I know, a $10 says he steps on someone" Teresa simpered; Thomas was truly awful at tact.

"I'll take that bet, I'm not that clumsy" Thomas challenged.

**He stepped on someone's hand,**

"Shuck" Thomas cursed giving Teresa her money who smirked and snatched the money from his hands.

"Thank you" she replied.

Everyone bar the Janson's laughed at the two, they were always having bets and the amount of money Thomas had lost to Teresa now, you would have thought he would have learned his lesson about gambling with her.

**earning a sharp cry of pain in return, then a punch on the calf.**

"That bloody hurt as well" _Thomas _cringed thinking back to his second day in the Glade.

"Oh stop being such a wuss you big baby, you go through much worse than that." _Chuck _punched _Thomas _on the shoulder.

Thomas gulped nervously, suddenly scared about what his counterpart had done.

"**Sorry," he whispered, ignoring a dirty look from Newt.**

"You need to learn to be a bit more discreet" _Newt _mentioned to the boy who rolled his eyes.

"I was very discreet when I was saving your boyfriend's arse from being eaten by Grievers" _Thomas _countered making the other boys crystal eyes widen in shock.

Alby chuckled remembering when Thomas saved his arse at the start of the year from being caught by Griever. After that he was never going to let Minho talk him into checking out girls with him late at night.

**Once they left the lawn area and stepped onto the hard grey stone of the courtyard floor, Newt broke into a run,**

"How the hell can you run?" Newt asked, looking at his counterpart in an almost jealous way. He hadn't been able to run properly since the… Accident?

"I got my limp about a year ago, I could only start running on it about 6 months ago" _Newt _answered awkwardly hoping this helped his counterpart feel better.

Newt nodded, he had only obtained the injury about 4 months ago. Hopefully, he would be able to get more back to normal as the months pass on.

**heading for the western wall. Thomas hesitated at first, wondering why he needed to run, but snapped out of it quickly and followed at the same pace.**

"Can't be that quick with his leg" Janson put in, earning a glare from all the Gladers.

"Even with a busted leg I bet I would be able to beat you in a race." _Newt _countered with a raise of one of his blonde brows.

Janson blushed fire red grunting something intelligible.

**The light was dim, but any obstructions loomed as darker shadows and he was able to make his way quickly along. He stopped when Newt did, right next to the massive wall towering above them like a skyscraper**

"Hence why we can't climb all the way up" _Alby _grunted folding his arms.

"Jon Snow made it up 'the wall' in Game of Thrones and that was much higher than this" Minho put in and all the students looked at him in disbelief.

"Game of Thrones isn't real you shank so shut up" Alby rolled his eyes.

"When did you even get chance to watch that?" Jorge asked looking at Minho with a raised brow.

"I went home for two weeks because I had the flu remember at Christmas time, caught up on all four seasons… Just now have to find a way to watch season five when it comes on" Minho laughed evilly and everyone rolled their eyes. Some in amusement, some in disbelief.

—**another random image that floated in the murky pool of his memory wipe. Thomas noticed small red lights flashing here and there along the wall's face, moving about, stopping, turning off and on.**

The students turned to look at the walls and indeed this was happening all over them, Aris opened his mouth to ask but shut it when he got a sharp look from _Gally._

"You will find out soon enough probably" _Jorge _said motioning to his work colleague to continue.

"**What are those?" he whispered as loudly as he dared, wondering if his voice sounded as shaky as he felt.**

"Nope you sounded alright and no need to be shaky when I'm around" _Newt _laughed earning a light slap on the upside of his head by _Thomas_.

"You've not got psychic powers of calming me down Newt that would just be weird" the student Thomas laughed.

_Thomas _and _Teresa _shot each other a worried look, how is everyone going to react about their psychic ability.

_Aris _too gulped, the others didn't know yet but he possessed them too.

**The twinkling red glow of the lights held an undercurrent of warning.**

**Newt stood just a couple of feet in front of the thick curtain of ivy on the wall. "When you bloody need to know, you'll know, Greenie."**

"I love how Newt just doesn't take no shit from nobody in the Glade, you need to be a bit more like that" Alby chuckled nudging his British friend in the ribs lightly.

"Your glader self also needs to learn the words 'loosen up'" Newt countered making everybody laugh and causing _Alby _to turn beet red.

"**Well, it's kind of stupid to send me to a place where nothing makes sense and not answer my questions." Thomas paused,**

_Chuck _laughed "you did not just say that to Newt? Have you seen how tall he is he could step on you and just think you were a leaf" he joked causing for _Newt _to roll his eyes.

"May be I will step on you" Newt raised an eyebrow at the younger boy who gulped in mock fear.

**surprised at himself. "Shank," he added, throwing all the sarcasm he could into the syllable.**

"That was pathetic" Gally started to laugh non-stop causing the others to chuckle at his stupidness.

"Sarcasm really isn't your thing" _Brenda _giggled cheekily.

Both Thomas' huffed knowing that they weren't very good with pulling off sarcasm but at least they had the nerve to try despite being shockingly bad at it.

**Newt broke out in a laugh, but quickly cut it off.**

"That is Newt's sarcasm" _Alby _pointed out, he had been on the end of _Newt's_ sarcasm plenty of times.

"You love it really" _Newt _smiled childishly, making his features look more innocent and young than they had in a long time.

_Jorge _couldn't even look at any of the gladers, for people so young they all had wiser eyes than himself. The hell that they must go through in here to survive was unimaginable. All of a sudden he had himself actually questioning the cause. Though this was for the great of good… he knew the scientist's research was going nowhere. You can find a lot out when you're a pilot working with scientists… Especially when one of the scientists was someone you more or less adopted.

"**I like you, Greenie. Now shut it and let me show ya somethin'."**

"Don't go with him he's taking you to his lesbian cave" Teresa joked making Brenda snort.

"Lesbian cave?" _Newt _said in almost fear, what the hell was one of them.

"Don't take any notice of her, it's just a joke between us" Brenda shook her head fondly at the other girl. If people over heard their conversations they would probably take them to a mental asylum.

Everyone looked at the two girls, wanting them to continue.

Teresa sighed and started to explain "Back in third year, Brenda and I always had this thing where we would grab each other's wrist and take them somewhere for example next lesson. One day we did it so much that Rachel said "They're going to their lesbian cave again" and the term just stuck."

"Teresa, Rachel, Harriet, Sonya and I still joke about it, especially even more now that Sonya had started grabbing Harriet's wrist we joke about them too. Just harmless fun so no need to look like you're about to klunk yourself Newt" Brenda laughed at the blushing boy.

**Newt stepped forward and dug his hands into the thick ivy, spreading several vines away from the wall to reveal a dust-frosted window,**

Janson grimaced, disgusted at how they could leave dust in places.

"We only use it once a month so don't give us that look" _Gally _glared at Janson, he really didn't like that man. It was the only thing himself and the Thomas' had a mutual agreement on.

**a square about two feet wide. It was dark at the moment, as if it had been painted black.**

"**What're we looking for?" Thomas whispered.**

"So inpatient" Alby tutted.

"You're one to talk" Thomas said back with a laugh, Alby was the most impatient person Thomas has ever known… Well him and Janson.

"**Hold your undies, boy. One'll be comin' along soon enough."**

All the gladers shivered with disgust "grievers" _Chuck _spat out.

**A minute passed, then two. Several more. Thomas fidgeted on his feet, wondering how Newt could stand there, perfectly patient and still, staring into nothing but darkness.**

"It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience." Thomas quoted. When everyone turned to look at him shocked. "Julius Caesar" he said sheepishly.

"That was really the only patience quote you could think of?" _Minho _asked with a smirk, he had never heard of this before but it was probably due to him living in a different time line.

Thomas blushed in slight humiliation "English is my `forte as well as PE. I remember Shakespeare quotes very well."

**Then it changed.**

**Glimmers of an eerie light shone through the window; it cast a wavering spectrum of colours on Newt's body and face,**

"Diffraction and interference" Janson said then started to explain to everyone that it was the light waves interfering with one another causing the different colours.

When he had finished Minho gave a loud fake snore which made Janson jump and glare at the student.

"Mr Far you would do well to listen to this, you're last grade in physics was truly disappointing" Janson said and Minho stared at him deadpanned.

"But I got an A" Minho looked ready to slap Janson across the face.

"It should have been an A+" Janson said nevertheless making Minho crack his knuckles in frustration.

**as if he stood next to a lighted swimming pool. Thomas grew perfectly still, squinting, trying to make out what was on the other side. A thick lump grew in his throat. **_**What is that? **_**he thought.**

"Hell" _Aris _said gesturing the Maze entrances.

"**Out there's the Maze," Newt whispered, eyes wide as if in a trance.**

"Reminds me of when Newt went to a hypnotist" Brenda chuckled; she loved to bring up embarrassing moments of the past up.

The students all chuckled as Newt turned fire red. "Brenda, be precautious we know a lot of embarrassing times for you as well." He warned but Brenda didn't listen.

"Newt fainted when seeing a hypnotist, they were moving the coin on a chain from side to side and he was staring at it. Next thing you know he's on the floor, eyes closed, fast asleep." Brenda laughed and everyone else couldn't help but laughing too. "It was even funnier trying to wake him up" she said between laughs tears of mirth rolling over her cheeks."

"Why?" _Newt _said flushed.

"We couldn't, Alby had to carry him bridal style back to the school" Chuck cooed.

Newt groaned trying to hide his face so that Alby couldn't see him; well no one could see him really.

"Sunday's are never dull for us considering it's the only day we're allowed to go out" Minho had a proud smile on his face.

_Alby _looked at _Newt _and gave a small smile, wanting him not to be embarrassed. Though he didn't always show it the dark skinned boy did care a lot for his blonde friend. They had been together since the start, as well as _Minho _but he had always hung round with other people rather than himself and _Newt._

"**Everything we do—our whole life, Greenie—revolves around the Maze. Every lovin' second of every lovin' day we spend in honour of the Maze,**

"I hate that shucking maze" _Newt _moaned quietly clutching his bad leg. He knew it was his own fault, the fact that he was weak, but still it was the maze that made him climb in the first place.

**tryin' to solve somethin' that's not shown us it has a bloody solution, ya know? And we want to show ya why it's not to be messed with. Show ya why them buggin' walls close shut every night.**

"If you think your Griever is bad… wait till you see ours" _Alby _said seriously looking round at the students who all seemed to gulp in fear.

**Show ya why you should never, never find your butt out there."**

"Well that didn't last too long" _Minho _laughed clapping _Thomas _on the shoulder. "You were out there saving our arses" he gestured to himself and their leader.

"He disobeyed the rules, he deserved a way harsher punishment than he got" _Gally _growled looking at his enemy with loathing.

"God, you are just a ray of sunshine aren't you?" Student Thomas rolled his eyes at the glader version of his friend. Out of everyone, it's _Gally _who is least like his student version.

**Newt stepped back, still holding on to the ivy vines. He gestured for Thomas to take his place and look through the window.**

"Can we have a look through this window?" Brenda asked interested.

All the gladers looked uneasy but eventually _Alby _nodded "You can see after this chapter."

Most of the students gave a small smile of excitement where the others just looked totally petrified.

**Thomas did, leaning forward until his nose touched the cool surface of the glass. It took a second for his eyes to focus on the moving object on the other side,**

"Something makes me think that this griever is going to be totally different to ours" Chuck whispered frightened.

Thomas was frowning whatever kind of Griever is behind the glass is stopping their counterparts from escaping this place. There must be some way to figure out this maze.

**to look past the grime and dust and see what Newt wanted him to see. And when he did, he felt his breath catch in his throat, like an icy wind had blown down there and frozen the air solid.**

All the students leaned forward subconsciously, intrigued to know what the book was going to reveal.

**A large, bulbous creature the size of a cow but with no distinct shape twisted and seethed along the ground in the corridor outside.**

Thomas and Brenda paled.

Newt and Alby looked like they were about to throw up.

Minho and Teresa's eyes widened in shock.

Gally and Aris flinched.

And Chuck… well he just looked like he was about to klunk himself.

**It climbed the opposite wall, then leaped at the thick-glassed window with a loud thump.**

"That thing can jump" Jorge gulped looking at the gladers.

"Oh it can do a whole lot more than that" _Newt _said bitterly, glaring hate at the floor.

**Thomas shrieked before he could stop himself, jerked away from the window**

"Awwwww, was iccle baby Thomas scwared?" _Gally _joked darkly.

"You're one to talk. I remember you screamed like a girl when I first showed you the grievers" _Alby _chuckled making everyone burst into laughter. That was back in the days where Nick was in control and he was second in command instead of _Newt_. Back in the day when _Newt _was head of the runners and the fear was only starting to set on him.

_Gally _blushed scarlet but said nothing.

—**but the thing bounced backward, leaving the glass undamaged.**

**Thomas sucked in two huge breaths and leaned in once again.**

"This is making me start to appreciate how our caretaker griever is nothing like those grievers" Jorge said earning a glare from Janson.

"You might want to hold your tongue when you talk about other staff" Janson hissed, even though what Jorge said was not negative towards their colleague.

"Yeah because you're such a fucking saint" _Jorge _coughed earning laughter from the gladers and students and glares of death from both counterparts of Janson's.

**It was too dark to make out clearly, but odd lights flashed from an unknown source, revealing blurs of silver spikes and glistening flesh.**

"I think I'm going to be sick" Teresa said repulsed and many of the others nodded with agreement.

"Trust me they're only going to get worse as you read on" _Thomas _wrinkled his nose as he said this, making all the students and teachers shiver. Well all except Janson but even he was a bit paler than usual.

**Wicked instrument-tipped appendages protruded from its body like arms: a saw blade, a set of shears, long rods whose purpose could only be guessed.**

"I really don't want to think about that" Gally paled.

_Alby _and _Gally _shivered the thoughts returning to them from when they got stung by the grievers. The pain was like a thousand needles being sliced into their flesh.

**The creature was a horrific**

"Monstrous" Thomas added.

"Grotesque" This time it was Brenda.

"Atrocious" Gally put in.

"We get the point" _Janson _growled, these teenagers were annoying him beyond belief.

**mix of animal and machine, and seemed to realize it was being observed,**

"Now that sounds like our griever, weird beyond compare" Aris shivered with discomfort.

**seemed to know what lay inside the walls of the Glade, seemed to want to get inside and feast on human flesh.**

"It's like a Zombie" Alby wretched.

Some of the students and gladers gave a half-hearted chuckle thinking back to the scare maze memory.

**Thomas felt an icy terror blossom in his chest, expand like a tumour,**

Newt instantly paled, flinching a fraction and sent a hesitant glance at his friends.

_Minho _frowned seeing this small flinch from the counterpart version of one of his best friends. What was that medication he was taking before? He needed to investigate into this; something bad is up with this.

**making it hard to breathe. Even with the memory wipe, he felt sure he'd never seen something so truly awful.**

"I wouldn't bet on that" _Jorge _said, in his mind Cranks are so much worse because they are pretty much living Zombies. He sent a sad look towards _Newt _knowing that the boy was the only glader there who wasn't immune to the deadly Virus._ Janson _and _Newt _will both one day have to deal with it.

**He stepped back, the courage he'd felt the previous evening melting away.**

"If asthma doesn't stop me in my world I guess the Grievers don't stop you in yours" Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"It doesn't and he has to show this in the most dramatic way ever" _Alby _rolls his eyes.

_Thomas _laughed "You wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for my dramaticness, no was _Minho _would have lifted your fat arse up the shucking wall"

_Alby _glared at him and huffed "I'm not fat."

"**What is that thing?" he asked. Something shivered in his gut, and he wondered if he'd ever be able to eat again.**

"I don't think I want to see them later" Chuck put in. "I like eating."

"I can tell" _Aris _joked looking Chuck up and down analysing the chubby boy.

"**Grievers, we call 'em," Newt answered. "Nasty bugger, eh?**

"Understatement" _Gally _coughed.

**Just be glad the Grievers only come out at night. Be thankful for these walls."**

"Be thankful for the runners as well" _Minho _said crossly folding his arms across one another.

"And the runners" _Newt _rolled his eyes.

**Thomas swallowed, wondering how he could ever go out there. His desire to become a Runner had taken a major blow.**

"Never stopped me, even when Professor Kornecki told me not to in case my health deteriorates" Thomas shrugged, he knew it was different cases but they were still the same person just from different worlds.

"Why would your health deteriorate? Thought your lungs just suck?" _Teresa _asked with a frown.

"Asthmatics are generally immunosuppressant, well at least Thomas is" Brenda said sadly, every year without fail Thomas will catch something which is so easy for them to deal with but could be life threatening to him.

"I basically can just catch illnesses quite quickly and have stronger effects than most" Thomas pursed his lips. He can't wait until the counterparts can vaccinate him against it.

**But he had to do it. Somehow he knew he had to do it. It was such an odd thing to feel, especially after what he'd just seen.**

"You're crazy" _Chuck _shook his head. He knew from day one that his now best friend would be a loony.

_Thomas _winked at him laughing.

**Newt looked at the window absently. "Now you know what bloody**

"You are so stereotypically English" Alby laughed pulling his friend into a strong one armed hug.

Newt rolled his eyes "No that is stereotypical Cockney, I'm Geordie… Geordie Shore is the typical for that" he laughed with a blush at their closeness.

**lurks in the Maze, my friend. Now you know this isn't joke time. You've been sent to the Glade, Greenie, and we'll be expectin' ya to survive and help us do what we've been sent here to do."**

"And what exactly is that?" Brenda questioned with an elegant raise of one of her brunette brows.

"If you would shut up, it is about to be told to you" _Janson _hissed waving the book in the air to exaggerate his words making all the students and gladers laugh.

"Rat man needs to take a chill pill" _Minho _sniggered into his hand to _Thomas_ who sniggered back.

"**And what's that?" Thomas asked, even though he was terrified to hear the answer.**

_Janson _looked up to give a quick glare at Brenda, who rolled her eyes.

**Newt turned to look him dead in the eye.**

_Alby _looked towards _Newt _whose sky blue eyes were narrowed slightly. The older boy could to tell that the blonde was concentrating thoroughly as he always squints his eyes when in deep concentration.

**The first traces of dawn had crept up on them, and Thomas could see every detail of Newt's face, his skin tight, his brow creased.**

Newt un-creased his brow, not actually realising he does that.

"Yes, your brow creases a lot" Alby answered the unasked question making Newt jump a little and everybody else to laugh at Newt's antics.

"Since when?" Newt pouted and Alby had to take a double look.

"**Find our way out, Greenie," Newt said. "Solve the buggin' Maze and find our way home."**

"Home is where your family is, not where your house is" Chuck said an all the gladers looked up confused.

None of them knew their biological families obviously, and it was only now that they realised that they were actually a true family. They all love each other like a family should do.

_Newt_is the mother, whilst _Alby_ is the father. _Teresa _is the daughter, with _Thomas _and _Chuck _as her brothers. Lastly, _Gally _is like that crazy uncle that none of them like but they have to love him because he's family.

**A couple of hours later, the doors having reopened, rumbling and grumbling and shaking the ground until they were finished, Thomas sat at a worn, tilted picnic table outside the Homestead.**

"Dude you are a shucking bad builder, remind me why I made you keeper again?" _Alby _questioned with a raise of one of his dark brows.

"Because I'm the one who overall stopped homestead from collapsing" _Gally _spat making _Alby _raise his other brow to join the first in shock.

"Talk to me like that again and you will be hearing the rest of this book from inside the slammer" _Alby _threatened making Chuck and Thomas snigger.

**All he could think about was the Grievers, what their purpose could be,**

"You're analysing into this way more than we expected at that stage" _Janson _interrupted himself impressed. He looked at the student Thomas wondering whether he possessed the same capabilities as his glader counterpart did.

**what they did out there during the night. What it would be like to be attacked by something so terrible.**

"Why would you think that? You crazy person" Aris looked between the Thomas' confused.

"Yeah it almost makes you sound suicidal" _Teresa _laughed.

Both Newts' faces dropped when _Teresa _said this, an awkward silence followed as no other person laughed at her joke.

"That's the last time I make a joke" Teresa said looking at her glader counterpart who was flushing.

**He tried to get the image out of his head, move on to something else. The Runners.**

"You are really scaring me how fixated you were on all this. Like at this point I was klunking myself to sleep just so I wouldn't have to cope with the terms I'm in a giant maze" _Aris _said, he remembered waking up with the girls as though it was a few days ago… Damn it was only a few days ago.

**They'd just left without saying a word to anybody, bolting into the Maze at full speed and disappearing around corners.**

"Loving how my Minho's hair blew in the wind" _Minho _laughed with a wink towards _Thomas _who laughed with a slight blush on his face.

"Shut up you great slint head"

**He pictured them in his mind as he picked at his eggs and bacon with a fork, speaking to no one, not even Chuck,**

"Rude" Chuck huffed.

**who ate silently next to him. The poor guy had exhausted himself trying to start a conversation with Thomas, who'd refused to respond.**

"Awww why you so mean to Chuck?" _Brenda _looked at _Thomas _shocked who blushed in embarrassment.

"Well I, I, I" he stuttered making the younger chubbier boy laugh.

"Someone's got a crush" _Chuck _giggled quietly earning an elbow to the ribs from the older boy.

**All he wanted was to be left alone.**

"Loner" Teresa chuckled with a wink.

**He just didn't get it; his brain was on overload trying to compute the sheer impossibility of the situation. How could a maze, with walls so massive and tall, be so big that dozens of kids hadn't been able to solve it after who knew how long trying?**

"Two shucking years" _Newt _said darkly making Chuck gulp in slight fear.

"Two years of looking at the same walls, trying our best to find a way out and failing" _Minho _said sadly, surprising everyone (apart from the Jansons) as the Asian boy was never normally this sullen. He was usually the optimistic one out of all of them.

**How could such a structure exist? And more importantly, why?**

"The Flare" _Brenda _shivered and _Jorge _brought her close into a cuddle.

"Why are you scared? You're a munie" _Janson _spat in disgust, running a stressed over his balding head.

Newt frowned looking at _Janson _curiously. Something wasn't right here and Newt made note that he would figure it out... Before the others figure something out about him.

**What could possibly be the purpose of such a thing? Why were they all there? How long had they been there?**

"Dude you pretty much asked the same twice" Minho laughed slapping Thomas on the upside of his head.

"Thomas has always had a habit of asking things more than once" Gally continued making all the students to laugh out loud, Thomas to flare up bright red in embarrassment and the gladers to quirk eyebrows.

"Care to explain" _Alby _asked with a grin.

Gally laughed and looked towards Thomas "How many times did you ask out Beth Harrison?"

Thomas groaned.

"I think it's better to ask how many times did you ask and get turned down by Beth Harrison." Minho cried with laughter and the gladers couldn't help but laugh too.

"She's a lunatic, best you stay away from her" _Aris _wrinkled his nose in disgust. The amount of times she has accused _Rachel _and him of stuff was ghastly.

"It was year 8 and for a 13 year old her tits were huge" Thomas blushed causing all the boys to roar with laughter and for both Teresa's and Brenda's to give him looks of disgust.

"Pervert" _Teresa _stuck her tongue out at him.

**Try as he might to avoid it, his mind still kept wandering back to the image of the vicious Griever. Its phantom brother**

"Bloody hell you are so dramatic about things, it's uncanny" _Gally _snorted and for the first time it didn't sound as though he was trying to be nasty at all.

"Well if I wasn't this book would be boring so shut up" _Thomas _said lightly and all the other gladers nodded in agreement.

**seemed to leap at him every time he blinked or rubbed his eyes.**

_Newt _pouted a little, that's how he felt before the… accident. He just hoped that _Thomas _had never felt that he should be at that point where he just wants to end things.

**Thomas knew he was a smart kid—he somehow felt it in his bones.**

"Which you are Mr Hunter, you all are. Hence, you all are at Glade High." Janson said and Jorge couldn't help roll his eyes. He was just repeating stuff that the teens already knew.

"We don't need this speech again Adrian" Jorge said lightly not wanting to get on the bad side of his work colleague.

Janson sent him a dirty look but said nothing.

**But nothing about this place made any sense. Except for one thing. He was supposed to be a Runner.**

Chuck rolled his eyes. This is like in Glade High all over again. He would not give up until he was on the athletics team when he could easily became something much cooler like a football jock.

**Why did he feel that so strongly?**

"Yeah really want to know that still" _Thomas _laughed at himself.

**And even now, after seeing what lived in the maze?**

"Yes Mr Hunter you are absolutely crazy" Jorge said to his student with a wink which the boy wouldn't help laugh at.

**A tap on his shoulder jarred him from his thoughts; he looked up to see Alby standing behind him, arms folded.**

"Strict as ever" Newt laughed then clutched his head. One of his headaches were starting to come on again.

"You alright?" Jorge asked concerned after this chapter they need to take a break.

"Yeah I'm fine" Newt lied and all the gladers and students sent him weird looks.

"**Ain't you lookin' fresh?" Alby said.**

_Newt _raised an eyebrow at _Alby _but said nothing; he knew his friend meant nothing by it.

"**Get a nice view out the window this morning?"**

"That's one way to put it" _Brenda _snorted, once again thanking that she didn't have to go in the glade as part of Group B.

**Thomas stood, hoping the time for answers had come—**

"This is the glade Thomas we don't do things that easily, you've got to work for answers." _Alby _laughed throatily.

**or maybe hoping for a distraction from his gloomy thoughts. "Enough to make me want to learn about this place," he said, hoping to avoid provoking the temper he'd seen flare in this guy the day before.**

Everyone laughed. "Dude he had only been there a day and he already knew what a shucking hot head you were" _Minho _creased with laughter.

Both Alby's blushed and scowled at everybody else.

**Alby nodded. "Me and you, shank.**

"You and I" Thomas corrected making Alby groan.

"Shut up shank, if I want to say me and you. I will say me and you" Alby bit back.

"Are getting ready for a romp" Minho shouted out of the blue making both sets of Alby's and Thomas' turn bright red in embarrassment.

"Why have you got to go and say that" _Alby _wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Hey what's up with me?" _Thomas _looked mock offended.

"You're a boy, that's what's up" Alby said back sternly expecting people to laugh but all he got was a shocked silence.

Both Newt's lips were pursed together and he refused to look at Alby "Can we continue with the book please"

_Janson _nodded, for the first time in his life feeling like he would be nice.

**The Tour begins now." He started to move but then stopped, holding up a finger. "Ain't no questions till the end, you get me? Ain't got time to jaw with you all day."**

"He said that to me too" _Chuck _said trying to lighten the mood to no avail.

"**But …" Thomas stopped when Alby's eyebrows shot up.**

"Still persistent as always" _Newt _smiled slightly, he wasn't going to let people just remain quiet through all this. He knew_ Alby _was very poor at making people laugh.

**Why did the guy have to be such a jerk?**

All the gladers and students burst into laughter. "You are shit at first impressions Al, you've already had him hating you" Gally howled with laughter.

"I made a better shucking first impression than you though" Alby retorted.

"True" Gally smirked.

"**But tell me everything—I wanna know everything."**

"I'll tell you what I want to tell you" Alby smirked.

**He'd decided the night before not to tell anyone else how strangely familiar the place seemed, the odd feeling that he'd been there before—that he could remember things about it. Sharing that seemed like a very bad idea.**

"It would have. We would have probably sent you to the slammer to live off the rest of your loony days in peace" _Minho _spoke with a raised brow and a cheeky smile on his face.

"**I'll tell ya what I wanna tell ya, Greenie. Let's go."**

Both Alby's smiled.

"**Can I come?" Chuck asked from the table.**

"Bad idea Chuckie" Aris said, he remembered Rachel had asked that when he first arrived at Glade High and he had almost bitten her head off.

**Alby reached down and tweaked the boy's ear.**

"That is actually very nice for Alby" Minho said impressed by the head boy.

"**Ow!" Chuck shrieked.**

"**Ain't you got a job, slinthead?" Alby asked. "Lots of sloppin' to do?"**

"Yeah but I hate that job" _Chuck _complained.

"Still time to make you a runner" _Minho _teased making the younger boy gulp in fear.

"I'm good."

**Chuck rolled his eyes, then looked at Thomas. "Have fun."**

"**I'll try." He suddenly felt sorry for Chuck, wished people would treat the kid better.**

"Thank you, at least someone appreciates me" Chuck said dramatically.

"Wouldn't got that far" _Thomas _joked

**But there was nothing he could do about it—it was time to go.**

"Thanks for the help" Chuck rolled his eyes.

**He walked away with Alby, hoping the Tour had officially begun.**

"That's the end of the chapter" _Janson _said putting down the book.

"I think we should take a break, you guys get something to eat I'm taking Newt to homestead" Jorge said already directing Newt to the falling down house. Leaving a lot of puzzled faces behind.

Once there Newt sighed "I can't believe how tired I get now, and my head hurts" he whimpered getting into bed.

"The doctors said that's natural, be glad it's not a seizure again" Jorge said sadly but Newt was already half asleep. "I'll wake you in half an hour, when we start reading the book." He told the blonde before he lost consciousness.

Jorge stared at Newts sickly complexion; he had lost a lot of weight recently and was deathly pale. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared at his student not hearing someone coming in behind him.

"What's up with him?" _Minho _asked making Jorge jump in shock.

"When did you get here?" Jorge asked as the boy came closer to him.

"Not long, please tell me the reason your staring at the student version of my best friend is not because you love him because that would be weird" _Minho _stated.

Jorge wrinkled his nose "Bloody hell no, he's just my student and only my student" he sighed. "He's like a son to me, he's like Brenda. An Orphan."

_Minho _looked at the blonde sadly as he slept. "What's up with him? I promise not to tell anyone, you can probably tell by my other version that I never tell secrets."

Jorge nodded knowing this very well, he sighed heavily and ran a hand through Newts hair pursing his lips and wincing as a blonde lock fell out.

"Newt is sick… Very sick"

* * *

**_PLEASE TAKE THE POLL ON MY PROFILE. IT IS ASKING WHAT YOU WANT FOR THE NON READING CHAPTER TO BE ABOUT (CHAPTER 10 NOT THE NEXT CHAPTER) (EVERY 10TH CHAPTER WILL BE A NON READING CHAPTER AND POLLS WILL CHANGE EVERYTIME). _**

**_PLEASE VOTE AND REVIEW!_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Disclaimer: I am not James Dashner_**

* * *

_Minho _managed to persuade Jorge to let him wake up Newt after much of a debate and glaring from the physical education teacher.

Strolling into the room he sat on the bed next to the sleeping blonde. Normally, _Minho _was a really inconsiderate person when it came to people sleeping peacefully. Though now knowing how sick the student version of his best friend is, he knew not to do anything stupid.

Shaking the boy's shoulders, Newt groaned in his sleep. Newt opened his eyes and squinted his eyes in pain and put a hand on his head, his headaches were always worse when he first woke up.

"Hey" _Minho _smirked, giving Newt the flask of water which he brought up with him which the British boy took gratefully taking many long slow gulps. "Feeling any better?"

Newt waved his hand to say 'so so'. "I'll be fine, the headaches were worse before I started treatment"

_Minho _looked upset but nodded his head "We're getting ready to start reading again, I've brought you up some food before we start"

Newt looked at the sandwich and even though it was small Newt looked as though he would be sick. "I think I would either be sick or have an hour of the skitters if I was to eat something now." He shaked.

The Asian boy frowned wondering what the shuck the skitters were and helped Newt up and they walked back down to where everyone else was.

Alby gave Newt a suspicious look as he sat down but then he looked back at the book, obviously it had been decided that he was reading the next chapter.

**They started at the Box, which was closed at the moment—**

"We're getting the whole tour again" _Gally _rolled his eyes.

However, all the students looked positively intrigued that they were now going to learn everything about this place. It was a damn lot more interesting than Glade High.

**double doors of metal lying flat on the ground, covered in white paint, faded and cracked. The day had brightened considerably, the shadows stretching in the opposite direction from what Thomas had seen yesterday.**

"Maybe because it is a different time of day" Gally said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world with a friendly roll of his eyes.

**He still hadn't spotted the sun, but it looked like it was about to pop over the eastern wall at any minute.**

Janson opened his mouth but all the students rolled their eyes and said all together "The sun rises in the east and sets in the west." That sentence had been drilled into them by the said teacher when he went absolutely crazy the previous June for a day and spent that whole day teaching them how to make sun dials for no apparent reason.

If Janson was capable of blushing, he probably would have.

**Alby pointed down at the doors. "This here's the Box. Once a month, we get a Newbie like you, never fails.**

"Except for when it spits up a girl" _Alby _looked over at _Teresa _who raised a daring brow at the dark skinned boy.

"Trust me if I had my way, I wouldn't even be here" she retorted.

"If you all had your way, none of you would be here shuck brain" Chuck stuck his tongue out.

**Once a week, we get supplies, clothes, some food.**

"Condoms" Minho coughed.

"Mr Far will you please refrain yourself from being so vulgar" Janson hissed looking like he just wanted to die of shame because of his student.

"Why would we need condoms? 1) Most of us are straight and 2) we're all guys so we couldn't get each other pregnant anyway" _Thomas _gave them a confused look.

"Can you remember about STI's or STD's in that noggin" Minho knocked on his student Thomas' head to see whether if it was hollow or not.

"STI's? STD's?" _Aris _looked beyond confused.

"Another deceased illness. AID's was difficult because it literally killed the immune system but was eventually defeated 200 years ago." _Jorge _educated them folding his arms.

Newt looked suspicious, wondering if there was a cure yet for him.

**Ain't needin' a lot—pretty much run ourselves in the Glade."**

"Ever decided to build a brothel?" Minho interrupted yet again.

"MINHO" everyone jumped at Janson's voice, it was laced with the purest of angers "WILL YOU PLEASE JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Everyone including both Jorge's were holding their breaths to keep from laughing, they just loved it when rat man blew up.

**Thomas nodded, his whole body itching with the desire to ask questions. I need some tape to put over my mouth, he thought.**

Janson perked up when he heard that, and grinned evilly at the idea.

"**We don't know jack about the Box,**

"How about Jack in the box?" Aris laughed as no one else did.

"Jones when are you going to shucking realise you're not funny?" Brenda rolled her eyes and everyone burst into laughter earning a huff of disappointment from both Aris'.

**you get me?" Alby continued. "Where it came from, how it gets here, who's in charge. The shanks that sent us here ain't told us nothin'.**

"Sounds like one of Dr Wright's Maths lessons, just leaves you to do the problem as though you're a pro" Brenda laughed earning a slight glare from Jorge who looked nervously at Janson.

However, Thomas continued laughing doing an impersonation of Dr Wright "At a party, everyone shook hands with everybody else. There were 66 handshakes. How many people were at the party?"

All the students groaned it was the first question asked when they all attended an extracurricular maths lesson.

"You forgot to add his 'You have exactly 21.7 seconds in order to solve it, you may start'" Teresa giggled.

Most of the gladers all looked seriously confused by this. However, _Newt _answered "12" making the students and both of the teachers drop their jaws in shock.

"You shucking liar, you said you didn't get the answer when we were doing that in class" Minho huffed at Newt who laughed weakly.

_Janson _smirked, he knew there was a reason he was chosen to do these trials as a dummy glader. His intelligence is amazing. Too bad the flare will one day probably eat that amazing brain of his away.

**We got all the electricity we need, grow and raise most of our food, get clothes and such. Tried to send a slinthead Greenie back in the Box one time—thing wouldn't move till we took him out."**

"They're always watching" _Chuck _said looking at the walls, his eyes watchful for any beetle blades.

**Thomas wondered what lay under the doors when the Box wasn't there,**

The gladers shivered thinking of Nick.

**but held his tongue. He felt such a mixture of emotions—curiosity, frustration, wonder—all laced with the lingering horror of seeing the Griever that morning.**

_Thomas _bit his lip worriedly. It won't be long until they start reading the night he, _Minho _and _Alby _(even if the last boy did nothing) spent the night out in the Glade running from Grievers.

**Alby kept talking, never bothering to look Thomas in the eye. "Glade's cut into four sections." He held up his fingers as he counted off the next four words. "Gardens, Blood House, Homestead, Deadheads. You got that?"**

"Blood house and deadheads?" Brenda choked "sounds like something off American Horror Story." Jorge squeaked as Janson glared at him, the older man knew he was the only one who would give her access to a TV.

**Thomas hesitated, then shook his head, confused.**

"At least he's honest. Chucky went the whole day wondering what the shuck I was talking about" _Alby _grunted a twisted grin on his face.

**Alby's eyelids fluttered briefly as he continued; he looked like he could think of a thousand things he'd rather be doing right then.**

"Why don't you give this job to someone else then?" Thomas asked curiously, both Alby's obviously hated the job of being tour guide.

"Because I'm the leader, so it's my responsibility" _Alby _replied rolling his eyes.

**He pointed to the northeast corner, where the fields and fruit trees were located. "Gardens—where we grow the crops. Water's pumped in through pipes in the ground—always has been, or we'd have starved to death a long time ago. Never rains here. Never."**

"Wish it was like that in England" Newt huffed with a laugh, his headache was starting to fade now and he was quietly thanking the Lord."70 percent of the time it's raining"

**He pointed to the southeast corner, at the animal pens and barn. "Blood House—where we raise and slaughter animals."**

Aris felt sick, he had been brought up by his parents a vegetarian and now the thought of killing animals always made him queasy.

**He pointed at the pitiful living quarters. "Homestead—stupid place is twice as big than when the first of us got here"**

"Hey you said you made it" Chuck accused pointing at a blushing wildly _Gally _causing all the gladers to burst out into laughter.

"You've been caught out there" _Jorge _sniggered.

"W-well, I am the one who initially started adding to it" he continued to blush.

**because we keep addin' to it when they send us wood and klunk. Ain't pretty, but it works. Most of us sleep outside anyway."**

"Sounds nicer than the place we went camping" Minho said.

"For such a shocking and boring school you do, do a lot of fun things" _Gally _frowned looking dumbfounded.

"We are self-entertaining" Alby raised his brow.

**Thomas felt dizzy. So many questions splintered his mind he couldn't keep them straight.**

"Nothing different there then" _Newt _joked. He punched a huffing _Thomas _on the arm.

**Alby pointed to the southwest corner, the forest area fronted with several sickly trees and benches. "Call that the Deadheads. Graveyard's**

All the students eyes widened and they gulped in fear. How many young boys had died here?

**back in that corner, in the thicker woods. Ain't much else. You can go there to sit and rest, hang out, whatever."**

"Why would you want to hang round near a graveyard?" Chuck squeaked.

"It's a place of solitude, when you're all cooped up together you need that from time to time" _Newt _answered, he would know. He tried to spend the most time on his own, but a certain dark skinned boy stopped him. Especially after the accident.

**He cleared his throat, as if wanting to change subjects. "You'll spend the next two weeks working one day apiece for our different job Keepers—until we know what you're best at. Slopper, Bricknick, Bagger, Track-hoe**

"That sounds so wrong" Teresa groaned.

"And you call me filthy" Minho tutted.

"That's because you are" _Thomas _laughed making Minho huff and _Minho _to bark with laughter.

—**somethin'll stick, always does. Come on."**

"What would you do if I didn't have something stick?" Thomas asked curiously wanting to know what would happen to his glader self.

"We would feed you to the maze at night" _Alby _grunted with a smirk on his face.

_Thomas _laughed "Well we all know that won't work"

"Just because you survived it once doesn't mean you could again" _Gally _bit out. All the students looked a bit confused by this but said nothing.

_Thomas _smirked and the students all knew that a good debate was going to come on "Let's just say I did and every night you put me in the maze and I survived and then came back by day eating all your food and lounging doing nothing because a job never stuck."

All the gladers started stupidly at _Thomas. _"Then we would become cannibals and eat you, we would all have a dedicated bit" _Brenda _suggested with a smirk.

"I'll have the eyeball jam on toast" _Newt _raised his hand like a child.

"Alby should have the stomach because he's the fattest" Aris grinned chuckling with amusement.

"OI"

"Either that or he should just try and swallow Thomas' fat head whole."

"You shucking bastard."

"I'll eat the legs" _Gally _leaned back pleased with himself.

"I wanted the legs" _Chuck _huffed in annoyance.

"You can have the arms instead" _Newt _rationalised with the boy.

Minho grinned "and in the end we all know Teresa will kebab the penis"

Both Teresa's turned tomato red as every burst into laughter, even the Janson's had a hard time telling Minho off.

As for the Thomas' they looked like they were about to be sick the thought of their penis' being skewered through a kebab stick.

**Alby walked toward the South Door, located between what he'd called the Deadheads and the Blood House. Thomas followed, wrinkling his nose up at the sudden smell of dirt and manure coming from the animal pens.**

"Shit happens" Newt shrugged and Alby chuckled at the Geordie boy.

**Graveyard? he thought. Why do they need a graveyard in a place full of teenagers?**

_Newt's _eyes turned dark.

**That disturbed him even more than not knowing some of the words Alby kept saying—words like Slopper and Bagger—that didn't sound so good.**

"You do make everything sound very scary, even why you're trying not to." Newt playfully nudged Alby's side with his bony elbow. Alby smiled at his friend and nudged him back not noticing the wince of pain that it caused.

**He came as close to interrupting Alby as he'd done so far, but willed his mouth shut.**

"You're doing better than most, Gally never shut the hell up when I was with him" Alby said knowing probably that the way Gally was in school is the way he was in the glade. Even though Gally and his counterpart were the most different out of all of the counterparts they could still tell some things were the same.

**Frustrated, he turned his attention to the pens in the Blood House area.**

**Several cows nibbled and chewed at a trough full of greenish hay. Pigs lounged in a muddy pit, an occasionally flickering tail the only sign they were alive.**

"Guess you guys don't believe in free range" Arishuffed he hated stuff like that with animals.

"More they move, the less meat they possess" _Aris _said coldly to his counterpart who jumped.

_Janson _looked at the students and gladers, maybe their differences will help them find out the cure to the Flare. He grinned evilly. The only way to find out was to do tests.

**Another pen held sheep, and there were chicken coops and turkey cages as well. Workers bustled about the area, looking as if they'd spent their whole lives on a farm.**

"Well they have in a way, they've spent the whole of their remembered life there" Brenda defended with a shrug and Jorge looked proud of her.

**Why do I remember these animals? Thomas wondered. Nothing about them seemed new or interesting—he knew what they were called, what they normally ate, what they looked like.**

"It's a thing called subconscious memory" Teresa told them smiling. "It's like de ja vu, you remember it but you don't know why you remember it"

**Why was stuff like that still lodged in his memory, but not where he'd seen animals before, or with whom? His memory loss was baffling in its complexity.**

"The human brain is human's most complex structure" Janson told them as though they were in a lesson.

**Alby pointed to the large barn in the back corner, its red paint long faded to a dull rust colour. "Back there's where the Slicers work. Nasty stuff, that. Nasty. If you like blood, you can be a Slicer." **

Thomas shook his head feeling sick at just the thought making all the gladers laugh.

**Thomas shook his head. Slicer didn't sound good at all. As they kept walking, he focused his attention on the other side of the Glade, the section Alby had called the Deadheads.**

"AKA the weirdest part of the glade" Chuck shivered he didn't like the sound of that place at all. He looked to where it was and quickly looked back scared.

**The trees grew thicker and denser the farther back in the corner they went, more alive and full of leaves.**

"Ecological succession" Janson reminded the students who all groaned.

"Or we just couldn't be bothered gardening there" _Newt _rolled his eyes.

**Dark shadows filled the depths of the wooded area, despite the time of day. Thomas looked up, squinting to see that the sun was finally visible, though it looked odd—more orange than it should be.**

_Janson _looked intrigued, his eyebrows furrowing in thought. The boy was remembering the sun before the sun flares? He was just a child at the time when that happened. This was interesting, very interesting indeed.

**It hit him that this was yet another example of the odd selective memory in his mind.**

**He returned his gaze to the Deadheads, a glowing disk still floating in his vision.**

"Can't have that eyeball jam drying up by looking at the sun too long" _Newt _winked and _Thomas _looked seriously disturbed.

**Blinking to clear it away, he suddenly caught the red lights again, flickering and skittering about deep in the darkness of the woods.**

Teresa suddenly screamed and all the boys jumped. "Bloody hell Teresa what's wrong?" _Thomas _asked his eyes wide.

A beetle blade was on her leg looking at her closely its face only inches away from hers. It's red eyes boring into her light blue ones. All the gladers just stared shocked.

"This has never happened before" _Alby _whispered, going over to Teresa however when he got within an arms distance away from the girl the mechanical bug just scurried away hissing at the dark skinned boy.

"Well that was weird" _Newt _said looking at _Alby _in confusion.

"Incredibly weird."

_Janson _frowned. '_What are you up to Ava Paige?' _He thought.

**What are those things?**

"I think I want to know the answer to that too" Teresa huffed still looking freaked out from her interaction with one just a second ago.

"They're called Beetle Blades and what just happened to you has never happened before." _Gally _told her giving her a suspicious look.

**he wondered, irritated that Alby hadn't answered him earlier. The secrecy was very annoying.**

"Only because you're a nosy buggar" Newt laughed though stopped when his head gave a sharp pain. That type of pain hadn't happened in a long time.

"You ok?" Thomas asked looking at his friend worried.

"Yeah, I think I need a drink of water though" no sooner than the words left his lips Alby was handing his bottle of water to him. "Thanks"

**Alby stopped walking, and Thomas was surprised to see they'd reached the South Door; the two walls bracketing the exit towered above them. The thick slabs of grey stone were cracked and covered in ivy,**

_Newt _looked down guiltily. Not at the thought that he did it. No at the thought he would willingly climb up and do it all over again, this time succeeding.

**as ancient as anything Thomas could imagine. He craned his neck to see the top of the walls far above; his mind spun with the odd sensation that he was looking down, not up.**

"Love that feeling" _Jorge _smiled wanting nothing more in that moment to just go in his berg and fly over the scorch.

**He staggered back a step,**

"Imagine the damage you could do if you jumped from the wall" _Minho _asked curiously.

The Newt's shared a look with each other and only the Alby's noticed frowning.

"Yeah you would probably end up with a gimpy leg like Newt" Gally joked winking at Newt showing he didn't mean it. Newt forced a dry laugh as everyone else chuckled… Well everyone except Alby, Jorge and Janson. Alby because he suspected something, Jorge because he was the one who had to council the boy after the incident and was also the one who had took him to the hospital after Alby had found him. And Janson because he just didn't care about the boy apart for study reasons.

Alby reached over subtlety and took Newts hand to squeeze it in reassurance. Then Newt did something he never thought he ever would but he was tired of being a wuss.

He crawled off his mat and into Alby's arms so that his back was leaning against Alby's chest. Alby smiled and put his arms around the boy so that the book was in front of them both and Newt leaned his head back onto Alby's shoulder. He knew he was being cheesy and gay as hell but he didn't care, he needed his friend.

All the students smiled, it was about time that Newt took a step.

_Alby _and _Newt _just stared on shocked and the older boy remembered that he said that he had to speak with the younger yet taller boy. That shall be done after this chapter.

**awed once again by the structure of his new home, then finally returned his attention to Alby, who had his back to the exit.**

"**Out there's the Maze." Alby jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, then paused.**

"The place of our nightmares" _Alby _continued knowing he didn't say it back then.

**Thomas stared in that direction, through the gap in the walls that served as an exit from the Glade. The corridors out there looked much the same as the ones he'd seen from the window by the East Door early that morning.**

"Are we going to be able to go out there?" Thomas looked towards the doors with a grin on his face. They were still locked.

"If they open I'll take you out for a run" _Minho _smiled at the student version of his friend, only Thomas would be crazy enough to ask such a thing.

**This thought gave him a chill, made him wonder if a Griever might come charging toward them at any minute. He took a step backward before realizing what he was doing. Calm down, he chided himself, embarrassed.**

"Never be embarrassed of being scared" _Newt _whispered to himself, he had been in a far worse state than the younger boy and he had felt the same. It was only after he spoke to _Alby _that that all changed.

The boy had never asked about what he did but he was definitely the most suspicious.

**Alby continued. "Two years, I've been here. Ain't none been here longer. The few before me are already dead." Thomas felt his eyes widen, his heart quicken.**

"I don't even want to know how they died" Chuck shivered and his counterpart went green.

"You really don't"

"**Two years we've tried to solve this thing, no luck. Shuckin' walls move out there at night just as much as these here doors. **

"You had to make life 10 times harder for is didn't you?" _Minho _grunted at _Janson _who grinned.

"You think I'm the only one who helped create the maze here?" he looked at _Aris, Teresa _and _Thomas._

"Yeah but they are one of us now" _Alby _bit back, he had seen what they had done and he knew that they hated it even though they couldn't remember. Or at least _Thomas _was.

**Mappin' it out ain't easy, ain't easy nohow." He nodded toward the concrete-blocked building into which the Runners had disappeared the night before.**

**Another stab of pain sliced through Thomas's head—there were too many things to compute at once. They'd been here two years? The walls moved out in the Maze? How many had died? He stepped forward, wanting to see the Maze for himself, as if the answers were printed on the walls out there.**

"World in catastrophe: Killzone experiment department" _Thomas _said to himself surely that must mean something. "What's the killzone?"

"All to be revealed" _Janson _nodded his head and tapped his temple twice. "Have a think about it."

**Alby held out a hand and pushed Thomas in the chest, sent him stumbling backward. "Ain't no goin' out there, shank."**

"Wanna bet?" _Thomas _smirked.

"Shut up Thomas" _Alby _growled back in annoyance.

**Thomas had to suppress his pride. "Why not?"**

"**You think I sent Newt to ya before the wake-up just for kicks? Freak, that's the Number One Rule, the only one you'll never be forgiven for breaking.**

"But he is always a bloody exception" _Gally _grumbled to himself. He didn't get why the other boy had such special treatment.

**Ain't nobody—nobody—allowed in the Maze except the Runners. Break that rule, and if you ain't killed by the Grievers, we'll kill you ourselves, you get me?"**

"When do you go into the maze?" Brenda asked looking at the book.

"I guess you've got a few chapters until that happens. Teresa's got to come here first" _Thomas _explained.

**Thomas nodded, grumbling inside, sure that Alby was exaggerating. Hoping that he was. Either way, if he'd had any doubt about what he'd told Chuck the night before, it had now completely vanished. He wanted to be a Runner. He would be a Runner.**

"Run around the Glade if you wanted to run that much" Minho joked with a booming laugh.

"Climb a tree or something and relive your forgotten childhood" _Brenda _continued the joke giggling.

**Deep inside he knew he had to go out there, into the Maze. Despite everything he'd learned and witnessed first-hand, it called to him as much as hunger or thirst.**

"God you were so shucking obsessed" _Newt _couldn't understand it.

"It felt like my calling you know" _Thomas _reasoned calmly, he knew the other boy didn't like the maze at all.

**A movement up on the left wall of the South Door caught his attention. Startled, he reacted quickly, looking just in time to see a flash of silver. A patch of ivy shook as the thing disappeared into it.**

"Have you guys ever touched one before?"Gally asked whist trying to lick some food out of his braces which had been there since the start.

"Yeah the bastard bit me, bloody hurt" _Chuck _winced thinking back to his first day of the glade.

"Language" _Newt _scolded the young boy.

**Thomas pointed up at the wall. "What was that?" he asked before he could be shut down again.**

**Alby didn't bother looking. "No questions till the end, shank.**

"Dude do you have PMS or something? Why you constantly in a bad mood?" Minho frowned, his Alby can have anger issues sometimes but this one seemed grumpy 24/7.

**How many times I gotta tell ya?" He paused, then let out a sigh. "Beetle blades—it's how the Creators watch us. You better not—"**

"Touch one" _Alby _continued.

**He was cut off by a booming, ringing alarm that sounded from all directions. Thomas clamped his hands to his ears, looking around as the siren blared,**

"Sounds like it's like the fire alarm in Glade high, nobody can get out of the building because we're all trying to stop ourselves from becoming deaf" Chuck groaned, everyone hated the fire drills back in school.

"Should we just not set one off and just allow you all to burn?" Janson questioned with a heated glare.

"We would all burn to death anyway because we're all on the floor clutching our ears" Minho bit back. He hated rat man with a passion.

**his heart about to thump its way out of his chest. But when he focused back on Alby, he stopped.**

**Alby wasn't acting scared—he appeared … confused. Surprised.**

"And the shock doesn't end there" _Newt _commentated with a laugh knowing what is going to happen.

**The alarm clanged through the air.**

"**What's going on?" Thomas asked. Relief flooded his chest that his tour guide didn't seem to think the world was about to end—**

"Always a good sign" _Minho _laughed and lounged back with his hands behind his head.

**but even so, Thomas was getting tired of being hit by waves of panic.**

"And it's only the second day" _Chuck _tutted.

_Thomas _snorted "hypocrite" knowing the boy would be twice as scared as he was.

"**That's weird" was all Alby said as he scanned the Glade, squinting. Thomas noticed people in the Blood House pens glancing around, apparently just as confused.**

"This was all because of you" _Gally _hissed glaring pure fire at _Thomas._

"What are you going on about?" Teresa said confused looking between the two boys.

_Thomas _didn't say anything just glared back at the other boy with just as much angry heat.

**One shouted to Alby, a short, skinny kid drenched in mud.**

"**What's up with that?" the boy asked, looking to Thomas for some reason.**

"See even he noticed something was fishy about you" _Gally _huffed to himself and Gally looked beyond confused looking at his friend.

"**I don't know," Alby murmured back in a distant voice.**

**But Thomas couldn't stand it anymore. "Alby! What's going on?"**

"Yeah we want to know why Gally keeps blaming Tommy for this" Newt said with a frown on his face.

"**The Box, shuck-face,**

"No need to have such a temper with him, he wasn't to know" _Newt _frowned at _Alby._

"Oh will you just shut up" _Alby _growled back at the boy.

_Newt _jumped and looked shocked but then his face hardened "No. I may only be your second but that doesn't mean you can treat me like shit like you have been doing all the time recently." He huffed not looking at all the shocked faces looking at him. "I've just being trying to help."

"Wow mum and dad had an actual argument" _Chuck _whispered almost frightened.

_Alby _looked down guiltily however he didn't apologise.

**the Box!" was all Alby said before he set off for the middle of the Glade at a brisk pace that almost looked to Thomas like panic.**

"When the leader is in a panic, the world is coming to an end" Minho said lightly trying to break the tension in the air to no avail.

"**What about it?" Thomas demanded, hurrying to catch up. Talk to me! he wanted to scream at him.**

_Newt _glared at _Alby _the boy could be so inconsiderate at some points.

**But Alby didn't answer or slow down, and as they got closer to the box Thomas could see that dozens of kids were running around the courtyard.**

The students all leaned forward anxiously in their seats, curious as to what all this was about.

**He spotted Newt and called to him, trying to suppress his rising fear, telling himself things would be okay, that there had to be a reasonable explanation.**

"Newt always gives that vibe"

"**Newt, what's going on!" he yelled.**

"There is a word called please" Newt said to the glader version of his best friend who just looked away guiltily again.

**Newt glanced over at him, then nodded and walked over, strangely calm in the middle of the chaos.**

"You always amaze me how you can do that" Alby interrupted himself for a second to whisper that in the now blushing boy's ear.

**He swatted Thomas on the back. "Means a bloody Newbie's comin' up in the Box." **

"Teresa" all the students said in realisation.

"Well this is weird you're in a glade full of lads" Gally said confused.

"This is where things start to get interesting" _Teresa _said back to them with a smirk.

**He paused as if expecting Thomas to be impressed. **

"Awww sorry Newt"

"You should be"

"**Right now."**

"**So?" As Thomas looked more closely at Newt, he realized that what he'd mistaken for calm was actually disbelief—maybe even excitement.**

"Nope I am relatively calm in those sort of situations in the glade" _Newt _said.

"**So?" Newt replied, his jaw dropping slightly. "Greenie, we've never had two Newbies show up in the same month, much less two days in a row."**

"Oh Jesus" Thomas said.

"Now you know why they were scared." _Brenda _said she remembered watching this scene on the cameras.

**And with that, he ran off toward the Homestead.**

"That's the end of the chapter" Alby said putting the book down.

_Alby _got up and grabbed _Newt _roughly by the arm and started dragging him to homestead.

"Stop Alby you're hurting me" the blonde boy said as he tried to get up from being dragged harshly.

_Alby _loosened his grip and looked at the others who were glaring at the way he treated _Newt _recently because it's not how he normally treats him.

They got into homestead and _Newt _leaned against the wall. "What's this about?" he questioned.

_Alby _looked at him and put his hands either side of _Newt's _head and leaned in close so they were almost touching noses.

"We need to talk about that day when I found you in the maze."

_Newt's _eyes widened then he looked down tears in his eyes.

"Okay"

* * *

**_\- I was reading my previous chapters and there are some things which I said would happen haven't happened so I am going to do them now, like between Alby and Newt (also just to let you know Alby isn't abusive to Newt he's just still in a mega bad mood after the changing)_**

**_\- I hope you enjoyed the chapter_**

**_\- Please review, I didn't get a lot for the last chapter and constructive criticism is always welcome. As long as it is constructive and tbh I think I need some to make this story better. Is it just me or is it getting a bit flat? I know things will start to heat up with Teresa coming but still._**

**_\- I can't skip chapters for those who keep saying do the bit where Thomas goes in the maze. Just be patient. I have a lot of stuff to do and I will get there eventually. There is no way i'm giving up on this fanfic so remain calm._**

**_\- Also can someone make a better summary for this story for me because I absolutely suck at doing summaries and in reward I will dedicate the next chapter to you in big bold letters because you would actually be the most amazing person ever because I really need help. Send through review or PM (so even anon's can have a go) THANK YOU!_**

**_\- PLEASE ANSWER THE POLL AND PLEASE REVIEW_**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Long time no see! This chapter was meant to go up before I started college but I have been very busy lately. I must warn you though don't think that I am going to make it normal updating during college time. I'm just doing it now because I felt really bad for leaving you guys hanging. I hope you can respect that decision of me putting my education first.**_

_**Okay in this chapter I have borrowed a few quotes so I shall say now where I got them from and what I did not actually make up: Star Wars and The Symposium (Plato)**_

_**Disclaimer: I am not James Dashner nor am I ^^^^**_

* * *

"We need to talk about that day when I found you in the maze."

Newt's eyes widened then he looked down tears in his eyes.

"Okay"

_Alby _was glaring at _Newt _"Why did you do it?"

_Newt _hugged himself and started to slide to the floor so that he was a bit further away from the other boy's glare. "What exactly do you think I did?" he whispered.

The dark skinned boy gulped not wanting to answer. "You tried to kill yourself" he croaked.

The tears finally leaked past his eyes and trailed over the blonde's cheeks. "I did" he admitted, he didn't sob he was stronger than that.

_Alby _flinched shocked that _Newt _would actually admit it. "Why?"

Looking up into his friends chocolate eyes with his blue ones _Newt _replied "because I gave up."

"You gave up?" _Alby _repeated bitterly, looking at his friend in disgust. "You selfish bastard, you were going to leave everyone because you gave up."

Flinching _Newt _averted his eyes. "I'm not selfish" he complained.

"Yes you were" he replied back harshly.

"No I wasn't, I was giving up and there was nothing anyone could do about it. At some point a Griever would have just got me anyway because I was losing skill. I just tried to speed up the process." _Newt _glared at the floor but then his eyes turned sad. "You are all better off without me anyway."

_Alby _grabbed _Newt's _shirt and hoisted him up so that they were nose to nose again. "How dare you say that. The Glade would be nothing without you."

"Really? All you have wanted for these past few days is for me to be out of your sight."

_Alby _ground his teeth together in annoyance but knew his friend was telling the truth. "I-I'm sorry. The changing just freaked me out."

"I understand that but I could have helped, like how I help everyone else. You're my best friend Alby" _Newt _looked at the ground and _Alby _loosened his grip.

"Have you ever wanted to you know, try again?" _Alby _couldn't even bear the thought of _Newt _trying to commit suicide again.

_Newt _looked down "I was considering it the night you got stuck out in the maze."

_Alby _gasped and has only just realised how close he and _Newt _actually were. Their lips were only a few millimetres apart.

He leant forward a bit more.

"ARE YOU TWO ALMOST DONE?" came a shout from outside homestead and the two jumped apart a blush covering the blonde's face before anything happened.

"Y-yeah we will come out now" _Newt _stuttered out.

_Alby _coughed awkwardly "just promise me you will never think like that again."

_Newt _smiled "anything for you" before making his way back outside to the others.

_Thomas _had the book in his hands to chapter 8 and watched as the two sat down. "Everyone ready?" he asked and everyone nodded. A few of them sending _Alby _suspicious and angry looks.

**The alarm finally stopped after blaring for a full two minutes.**

"Very accurate" _Brenda _raised a brow at the reader however it was his student version who answered her.

"I praise myself on the amount of detail I am able to capture" Thomas laughed loudly though it died down when he felt his chest tighten slightly. Frowning he couldn't find his inhaler; he will look after this chapter he decided.

**A crowd was gathered in the middle of the courtyard around the steel doors through which Thomas was startled to realize he'd arrived just yesterday.**

"It feels like so much longer" Teresa said quietly looking at _Thomas _who was smirking.

**Yesterday? he thought. Was that really just yesterday?**

Teresa blushed.

"Great minds think alike" _Teresa _winked between her alternative self and Thomas.

Thomas looked at Teresa who was still red and he smiled slightly at her not noticing the sad look which was being sent from Brenda.

**Someone tapped him on the elbow; he looked over to see Chuck by his side again.**

Chuck huffed "I hate only being 4ft 7"

"Not our fault you're a midget" _Minho _chucked giving Chuck a noogie.

"You are very small for your age" _Brenda _smiled at the boy who blushed.

"I can't even blame it on malnutrition" _Chuck _rolled his eyes poking his rolls.

"**How goes it, Greenbean?" Chuck asked.**

"**Fine," he replied, even though nothing could've been further from the truth.**

_Chuck _frowned, sad that his friend would lie to him.

**He pointed toward the doors of the Box. "Why is everyone freaking out? Isn't this how you all got here?"**

All the gladers shivered, flashbacks of when they came up still haunted them.

**Chuck shrugged. "I don't know—guess it's always been real regular-like. One a month, every month, same day. Maybe whoever's in charge realized you were nothing but a big mistake, sent someone to replace you."**

"I wish" _Thomas _chuckled.

"I don't know how you all didn't just go crazy" Brenda sighed looking at all four walls then back at the gladers. She had never been good in confined spaces loving to see new things every day. That was probably one of the reasons she wasn't suitable for the maze trials to take Teresa's place. However, looking into _Thomas_' green eyes she wished she went into the maze instead of Teresa. She wondered if her counterpart thought the same thing considering she could have actually been in that situation.

Someone clicked their fingers in front of Brenda's face, turning to see who it was she saw Teresa with a false happy smile on her face. "You were day dreaming again."

Blushing in embarrassment she muttered "sorry" but looked back again at the glader version of her crush.

**He giggled as he elbowed Thomas in the ribs, a high-pitched snicker that inexplicably made Thomas like him more.**

"Awww shucks I didn't know you liked my laugh" Chuck said in a girly version making _Thomas _burst out laughing.

Thomas would have started laughing too but he was trying to remain calm. His chest had started to become unbelievably tight. There must be some irritant in the air triggering the reaction because he hadn't done anything exerting to cause this. He knew he was being stupid by not trying to find his inhaler but he didn't want to cause a scene. So he stayed where he was trying to remember where it is, he had it a couple of chapters ago.

_Janson _smirked evilly at the boy, though discretely so no one would notice. Tapping his pocket he relished the bulge with was in a significant shape of an inhaler when pressure was placed onto the fabric of his lab coat.

**Thomas shot his new friend a fake glare. "You're annoying. Seriously."**

"Only to you" _Chuck _winked.

"**Yeah, but we're buddies, now, right?"**

"I find your lack of faith… disturbing" Thomas wheezed the line from Star Wars, this situation would actually be hilarious because he sounded a lot like Darth Vader in that moment if the situation wasn't as serious. Everyone turned their head in concern.

"You alright Tommy?" _Newt's _brows furrowed in concern, his glade mother personality awakening.

Thomas didn't say anything back, just stumbled to his feet heading for homestead. He may have left his spare inhaler in his sports bag… he hoped. He only got a few steps in before he collapsed onto his hands and knees coughing uncontrollably, wheezing trying to get as much air into his lungs as he can. Angry tears ran down his face, from panic.

Everyone bar the two Janson's and _Gally _got up and ran to Thomas circling him. "Get back" Jorge shouted, he was right next to the struggling boy who had now fallen to his side in coughing, his face towards the ground to block out the light. The circle expanded on slightly.

"I'll go fetch his other inhaler" Jorge didn't know who said it, he didn't care he just needed to help the boy who was obviously in lots of pain.

"I'm going to sit you up now Thomas, do you hear me?" Jorge asked remembering his training. Thomas shakily patted his hand on the floor two times, their code for yes.

The other _Jorge _came to the other side of Thomas and helped him to sit on his bottom, back straight to try and relieve some of the pressure on his chest and open his airways. Sweat had now formed on the boy's forehead, he was still coughing but they weren't as strenuous.

"Try and take deep long breaths for me, as best as you can" Jorge was holding the boys hand, letting it get crushed by the pressure of the boys grip.

Thomas heard and tried to do the best he could. '_Where is my inhaler?'_ he thought bitterly. He couldn't do it, the coughs wouldn't die down. He was panicking.

_Brenda _was watching this in horror. Her heart pulled for the teenager, he wouldn't calm down. That's when her head kicked into action and so did her body. She ran up and straddled the boy's legs, if the situation wasn't so dire this could have perhaps looked quite intimate.

But it didn't.

Because Thomas was in pain.

Grabbing his face in both of her hands she forced his tears leaking green eyes to look into her soft brown ones. "Look at me Thomas, you have to calm down. Newt and Alby are almost back with your inhaler" She stroked his cheekbone with the pad of her thumb trying to take the boys mind off what was happening as best as she could. Thirty seconds later, his breathing was better. He was still wheezing beyond badly but the coughing had stopped immensely. _Brenda _could have cried in relief.

Newt and Alby came running up, with Alby throwing the inhaler to _Jorge _who caught it with ease passing it to Thomas who started to use the device.

It took quite a while before his breathing went to normal. An hour. Thomas looked at his watch embarrassed.

"I'm so sorry guys for that" he whispered getting up on shaky feet.

Teresa went to his side to aid him, she felt horrible. Horrible because she didn't know what to do but _Brenda _did. She got all the glory when it was only Teresa who loved him… Or so she thought.

"Don't be stupid, there must have been an irritant or something near. It wasn't your fault" Jorge put a hand on Thomas' shoulder as they walked back over to the reading area.

Everyone took their respectable pages and _Thomas _took the book again, he looked noticeably paler at seeing himself in so much pain. Now he knew what it felt like when others saw him in pain.

**Chuck fully laughed this time, a squeaky sort of snort.**

_Chuck _would have done another impersonation but didn't have the heart to do it. He couldn't stop worrying about his friend.

"**Looks like you're not giving me much choice on that one." But truth was, he needed a friend, and Chuck would do just fine.**

Thomas gave a tired smile at his friend; the tiredness will soon pass once he has got enough oxygen circulating through his body. He had, had those of asthma attacks quite often. However, it was the first time that his inhaler hadn't been in reaching distance. He still wondered where the inhaler he kept in his pocket had gone.

**The kid folded his arms, looking very satisfied. "Glad that's settled, Greenie. Everyone needs a buddy in this place."**

"That they do" _Newt _said looking gratefully to _Alby _who nodded. Even though he had been a dick to him, he had always supported the blonde for which the blonde was grateful for.

**Thomas grabbed Chuck by the collar, joking around. "Okay, buddy, then call me by my name. Thomas. Or I'll throw you down the hole after the Box leaves."**

"Can't you get out like that?" Gally asked looking around curiously.

"No you can't, we've tried it. It failed. We never tried again" _Gally _answered to his counterpart grumpily. He hated being in the glade but he was also afraid to escape it.

**That triggered a thought in his head as he released Chuck. "Wait a minute, have you guys ever—"**

"We get all these ideas every time from a Greenie" _Alby _rolled his eyes making _Thomas_ blush in embarrassment.

"**Tried it," Chuck interrupted before Thomas could finish.**

"**Tried what?"**

"What you were about to suggest duh" _Gally _said in a hostile way towards _Thomas_ who didn't take any notice.

"**Going down in the Box after it makes a delivery," Chuck answered. "It won't do it. Won't go down until it's completely empty."**

"Beetle Blades" Alby shivered, you could hear their metallic feet hitting the ground everywhere.

**Thomas remembered Alby telling him that very thing. "I already knew that, but what about—"**

"Nope" _Newt _said grimly. They had tried pretty much everything and they were still stuck in this shithole.

"We will get out I promise you." _Alby _said and all the other Gladers nodded. _Newt _sent them appreciative nod and smile.

"**Tried it."**

**Thomas had to suppress a groan—**

"I wish he could do that in our world, he doesn't stop groaning because of distaste" Minho laughed at his friend who groaned on purpose.

_Thomas _laughed, "Doesn't stop wheezing either" he said lightly and everyone chuckled including his counterpart.

**this was getting irritating. "Man you're hard to talk to. Tried what?"**

"**Going through the hole after the Box goes down. Can't. Doors will open, but there's just emptiness, blackness, nothing. No ropes, nada. Can't do it."**

"You have like a load of ivy over there, make a rope" Aris rolled his eyes, seriously these people.

All the gladers glared at him. "Shut up and listen to the book" _Minho _hissed at him.

**How could that be possible? "Did you—"**

"**Tried it."**

**Thomas did groan this time. **

"There is the Thomas we all know and hate" Minho joked pinching Thomas' cheek.

"**Okay, what?"**

"**We threw some things into the hole. Never heard them land. It goes on for a long time."**

"Oh" Aris blushed.

"Exactly, we have no idea how long to make the ivy. We could use it all and may still not be long enough" _Gally _said with a raise of one of his eyebrows.

**Thomas paused before he replied, not wanting to be cut off again. "What are you, a mind reader or something?" He threw as much sarcasm as he could into the comment.**

"Hmmmm you don't do sarcasm" Brenda laughed sending Thomas a wink making the boy blush. Brenda sighed relieved that the runner was now under more control than he was before.

Teresalooked between the two with jealousy laced into her soul. Whilst, the other _Teresa _just looked onto the two as though it was a game. And she knew she wanted to win.

"**Just brilliant, that's all." Chuck winked.**

Chuck tried to wink even though he knew he couldn't.

_Gally _snorted with laugher "What the shuck was that meant to be?"

Chuck blushed, normally he would come up with a sarcy reply but he didn't like this glade version of Gally so remained quiet.

"**Chuck, never wink at me again." Thomas said it with a smile.**

"Student Chuck never even attempt to wink at anyone again" _Minho _joked making the boy laugh.

**Chuck was a little annoying,**

"OI" _Chuck _huffed and both the Thomas' put the arms up in mock surrender.

**but there was something about him that made things seem less terrible.**

"Awww thanks dude, must be my adorableness" Chuck fluttered his eyes.

"Dude you have no adorableness" _Teresa _joked with a chuckle making Chuck huff in mock annoyance.

**Thomas took a deep breath and looked back toward the crowd around the hole. "So, how long until the delivery gets here?"**

"Hopefully a lot quicker than at School" Minho glared at Janson. He knew Ratman always kept the deliveries in the back longer than they need to be.y

"**Usually takes about half an hour after the alarm."**

**Thomas thought for a second. There had to be something they hadn't tried. "You're sure about the hole? Have you ever …"**

_Thomas_ smirked and waited earning himself a few quizzical looks.

"What are you waiting for?" Minho asked confused.

Another smirk _Thomas _answered "an interruption."

**He paused, waiting for the interruption, but none came. "Have you ever tried making a rope?"**

_Alby _shuddered that was the reason he became the full leader.

Newt saw the shiver and frowned, what happened?

"**Yeah, they did. With the ivy. Longest one they could possibly make. Let's just say that little experiment didn't go so well."**

"That's an understatement" _Minho _snorted bitterly.

"He was a good guy" _Newt _sighed, he was sick of all the shit what happened in the maze.

"**What do you mean?" What now? Thomas thought.**

All the gladers shivered glaring daggers at the hole.

"**I wasn't here, but I heard the kid who volunteered to do it had only gone down about ten feet when something swooshed through the air and cut him clean in half."**

"What?" Chuck screamed sending a terrified look towards the hole.

_Alby _looked at him "That's what we thought too, Nick was a good guy. Bossy but good."

"He was our leader before Alby stepped up" _Newt _explained.

"**What?" Thomas laughed. "I don't believe that for a second."**

_Gally _shivered in disgust, he remembered that day as clear as ocean water.

"**Oh, yeah, smart guy? I've seen the sucker's bones.**

_Thomas _gagged at that part thinking back to when he saw the boy's bones.

"We need a proper tour of this place" Aris said looking round at the gladers who were all too repulsed to reply.

**Cut in half like a knife through whipped cream.**

Teresa looked as though she wanted to be sick.

"What an awful comparison Chuck" Jorge scolded his student who face palmed himself even though it was actually his counterpart who said it.

The other _Chuck _had blushed cherry red.

**They keep him in a box to remind future kids not to be so stupid."**

_Alby _sighed that was his idea and now thinking about it. It didn't seem that much of a good idea anymore. He just should have let the boy rest in peace. He was cocky when he first started a month ago now he just feels like an idiot.

**Thomas waited for Chuck to laugh or smile, thinking it had to be a joke—**

"I wish" _Chuck _grimaced.

**who ever heard of someone being cut in half? But it never came. "You're serious?"**

"Deadly."

**Chuck just stared back at him. "I don't lie, Gree—uh, Thomas. Come on, let's go over and see who's coming up. I can't believe you only have to be the Greenbean for one day. Klunkhead."**

"It's because I'm awesome" Thomas joked and Teresa giggled.

Brenda couldn't help but roll her eyes at her friend. She is such a girly girl that it sickens her. She frowned when Thomas smirked back at the other girl… Maybe she needed to start acting more like Teresa?

**As they walked over, Thomas asked the one question he hadn't posed yet. "How do you know it's not just supplies or whatever?"**

"Because that would make The Glade too normal" _Newt _rolled his eyes bitterly.

"**The alarm doesn't go off when that happens," Chuck answered, simply. "The supplies come up at the same time every week. Hey, look." Chuck stopped and pointed to someone in the crowd.**

_Thomas _glared at _Gally _before he continued.

**It was Gally, staring dead at them.**

"You are very weird in the Glade pal, no offence" Minho said to Gally.

"Non-taken" He said giving his counterpart a weird look, the boy turned around to glare at him and it was honestly the weirdest thing to see himself glaring at himself.

"**Shuck it," Chuck said. "He does not like you, man."**

"No shit Sherlock" Thomas joked with his friend, feigning mock annoyance.

"**Yeah," Thomas muttered. "Figured that out already." And the feeling was mutual.**

Thomas and Gally looked in concern at their counterparts who were glaring at each other.

**Chuck nudged Thomas with his elbow and the boys resumed their walk to the edge of the crowd, then waited in silence; any questions Thomas had were forgotten. He'd lost the urge to talk after seeing Gally.**

"Your ugliness makes me forget my train of thought" _Thomas _bit out.

"Oh you two are acting like children" Newt said in actual annoyance looking between the two. He'd had enough. He was just starting to feel better and he didn't want those two goons causing him another headache, with their childishness.

The two sent awkward looks at Newt with _Thomas_ muttering an apology.

**Chuck apparently hadn't. "Why don't you go ask him what his problem is?" he asked, trying to sound tough.**

"You shouldn't try a lot of things Chuck, yet you still do" Gally rolled his eyes with a chuckle.

"I like to be daring" Chuck smirked; a daring look on his face was failing.

**Thomas wanted to think he was brave enough, but that currently sounded like the worst idea in history.**

_Gally _let out a choked laugh.

"**Well, for one, he has a lot more allies than I do.**

"You have most of us" _Minho _smirked making the boy roll his eyes.

"Now I do."

**Not a good person to pick a fight with."**

"You got that right" _Gally _grunted with a smirk.

"**Yeah, but you're smarter.**

_Gally _glared at _Chuck _who squeaked in fright.

**And I bet you're quicker. You could take him and all his buddies."**

"Not something I would want to try too quickly" Thomas laughed softly sending Gally an amused look.

**One of the boys standing in front of them looked back over his shoulder, annoyance crossing his face.**

"I have the feeling you don't like me?" Thomas stated the obvious at _Gally _who snorted.

"No shit Sherlock" he replied. _Gally _was still confused as to how his counterpart and his enemy's counterpart were friends. He shucking hated _Thomas._

**Must be a friend of Gally's, Thomas thought. "Would you shut it?" he hissed at Chuck.**

"Hey don't be so harsh" _Newt _chuckled running a hand through his long blonde hair. It was getting a bit too long now; he will have to cut it soon.

**A door closed behind them; Thomas turned to see Alby and Newt heading over from the Homestead. They both looked exhausted.**

"Wonder what they've been up to" Minho wiggled his eyebrows causing _Alby _and _Newt _to blush furiously in embarrassment. The thoughts of what almost happened earlier coming back fresh in their minds.

"Shut up Minho" Alby growled, though he too was blushing. He wished that his Minho would be more like his counterpart in the form that he wasn't so bloody dirty minded.

**Seeing them brought Ben back to his mind—along with the horrific image of him writhing in bed.**

_Newt _and _Alby _both shivered. Though they had seen it quite a few times with other gladers they still hated being there watching as a glader went through the dreaded 'changing'.

"**Chuck, man, you gotta tell me what this whole Changing business is. What have they been doing in there with that poor Ben kid?"**

"You make it sound like we have done that to him" _Minho _snorted folding his arms and sending an amused look towards his friend.

"To be honest a tiny bit of me thinking you were and I would be your next victim" _Thomas _replied back sarcastically with a wink.

**Chuck shrugged. "Don't know the details. The Grievers do bad things to you, make your whole body go through something awful. When it's over, you're … different."**

_Gally _shivered knowing all too well, his face paling into the colour of sour milk.

Gally sent his counterpart a look and sent him a reassuring smile. It was like cheering himself up, but he knew that would never work. Especially on himself.

_Alby _sent _Newt _a sad look, he knew he had fallen victim to the change in personality and the blonde had to suffer through it as much as he did.

**Thomas sensed a chance to finally have a solid answer. "Different? What do you mean? And what does it have to do with the Grievers?**

"Give the man a chance to answer" Aris joked with a laugh. Still everyone ignored him.

**Is that what Gally meant by 'being stung'?"**

All the gladers flinched especially the ones who had been stung, the thought of being stung scared them. Not that they would actually admit it.

"It's okay to be afraid you know" Brenda said kindly to the gladers who all looked up surprised at her.

"That's not how we live here, it's not as easy as that" _Newt _said guiltily. He was one who let fear get the better of him.

"**Shh." Chuck held a finger to his mouth.**

**Thomas almost screamed in frustration, **

"Wow you managed to hold it in for once" Chuck giggled pointing between both Thomas".

_Thomas _raised an questioning eyebrow at his counterpart who just groaned in frustration causing all the gladers and students to laugh.

"You guys always pick on me" Thomas groaned folding his arms.

"You know we love you really" Teresa said in a way that was a bit too serious to be funny.

Thomas looked up into her sky blue eyes and gulped, not listening to the laughter that was still going on around him. He didn't know how to explain how he felt towards Teresa, it was weird. He liked her but for some reason it didn't seem right.

**but he kept quiet. He resolved to make Chuck tell him later, whether the guy wanted to or not.**

"You sound like you would murder me if I didn't" Chuck joked with a strangled laugh.

This caused Thomas to do an evil laugh coughing a bit at the end and taking a puff of his inhaler. He still wasn't fully back to normal.

Sending Thomas a concerned look, _Jorge_ felt a bit better when the boy smiled at him after taking his inhaler. "You going to be okay?"

"Yeah" Thomas replied to the counterpart of his PE teacher. The men both had that kind heart even though _Jorge's _was a bit more difficult to see at some points.

**Alby and Newt had reached the crowd and pushed themselves to the front, standing right over the doors that led to the Box. Everyone quieted, and for the first time, Thomas noted the grinds and rattles of the rising lift,**

Teresa grimaced, she still would have hated to go up there herself. She was highly claustrophobic to the point where sometimes if the classroom door was closed she would start to panic.

**reminding him of his own nightmarish trip the day before. Sadness washed over him, almost as if he were reliving those few terrible minutes of awakening in darkness to the memory loss.**

"It must be awful what you kids must have gone through" Jorge said looking sympathetic look to the gladers. He dreads the thought of how he would feel if it was his student kids being there. He knew his counterpart doesn't know the gladers but he knew his students and he wouldn't wish this upon any of them.

**He felt sorry for whoever this new kid was, going through the same things.**

_Teresa _blushed, not exactly she thought.

**A muffled boom announced that the bizarre elevator had arrived.**

All the students leaned forward eager to know who had come up the lift.

**Thomas watched in anticipation as Newt and Alby took positions on opposite sides of the shaft doors—a crack split the metal square right down the middle. Simple hook-handles were attached on both sides, and together they yanked them apart.**

"Done that too many times now" _Newt _said sadly and his counterpart sent him a look.

"It must be hard living here, enough to do something unthinkable" Newt whispered biting his lip.

Alby looked between the two but said nothing.

**With a metallic scrape the doors were opened, and a puff of dust from the surrounding stone rose into the air.**

"And Thomas proceeded to cough up his lungs" Minho winked at the boy who was mock glaring at him.

"If I had asthma in this world than I probably would be" _Thomas _shrugged, looking unsure.

"When is he allowed to get the cure?" Brenda said and a beetle blade went across her leg and onto the dirt. A tiny stick between its antennas.

S.O.O.N – The beetle blade drew out into the dirt and the scurried away.

All the gladers once again had their mouths wide open in shock, the beetle blades wouldn't touch them for some reason but didn't mind getting close to the students.

"The beetle blades are just getting weirder and weirder" _Chuck _said wide eyed.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

**Complete silence settled over the Gladers. As Newt leaned over to get a better look into the Box, the faint bleating of a goat in the distance echoed across the courtyard.**

"You must have literally been the only one paying attention to that Thomas" _Chuck _rolled his eyes good naturedly.

_Thomas _stuck his tongue out at his friend.

**Thomas leaned forward as far as he possibly could, hoping to get a glance at the newcomer.**

Most of the students looked between Thomas and Teresa. From what the gladers have said, they have their suspicions it would be _Teresa_ in the box but they couldn't be sure. There could be someone before _Teresa_.

**With a sudden jerk, Newt pushed himself back into an upright position, his face scrunched up in confusion.**

The students all nodded. Teresa.

"**Holy …," he breathed, looking around at nothing in particular.**

"She naked or something?" Minho raised an eyebrow earning a hard punch on the shoulder by Thomas.

"Stop being so crude" Thomas frowned and Minho put his hands up in surrender rendering all the gladers speechless, _Minho _surrendered to no one.

**By this time, Alby had gotten a good look as well, with a similar reaction. "No way," he murmured, almost in a trance.**

"Must have been a big change for you" Jorge said with his eyebrows raised.

**A chorus of questions filled the air as everyone began pushing forward to get a look into the small opening. What do they see down there?**

Minho opened his mouth to make a rude comment but closed his mouth again at the look of pure fury which radiated from Thomas. Thomas was his best friend and knew when to stop pushing his buttons before things went ugly.

This was a moment where if he carried on, he would be certain his best friend would at least try to punch him in the face.

**Thomas wondered. What do they see! He felt a sliver of muted fear,**

"Why would you be scared of me?" _Teresa _smirked at _Thomas _and laughed.

"Do you not know hot scary she is? PM-" Brenda was saying but earned a light punch on the shoulder from a blushing Teresa.

"That is quite enough girls" Jorge chuckled at his students.

**similar to what he'd experienced that morning when he stepped toward the window to see the Griever.**

_Newt _shivered holding himself tightly, the grievers scared him. But he would go against a thousand of them if that meant he could have his freedom.

"**Hold on!" Alby yelled, silencing everyone. "Just hold on!"**

"**Well, what's wrong?" someone yelled back.**

**Alby stood up. "Two Newbies in two days," he said, almost in a whisper. **

"You know shit is wrong when Alby is scared" _Minho _snorted, the boy was hardly ever scared. The only time he had seen him frightened was after _Newt _had, had his accident.

"**Now this. Two years, nothing different, now this." Then, for some reason, he looked straight at Thomas. "What's goin' on here, Greenie?"**

"That's awful to do that to him" _Jorge _gave a low chuckle.

"It was the only reasonable thing to do at the time" _Alby _shrugged not concerned.

**Thomas stared back, confused, his face turning bright red, his gut clenching. "How am I supposed to know?"**

"You did put him on the spot" _Aris _chuckled wondering whether if _Rachel _was treated this harshly.

"**Why don't you just tell us what the shuck is down there, Alby?" Gally called out.**

"Why don't you stop being so damn bossy Captain" Alby rolled his eyes at the glader version of his friend who blushed.

**There were more murmurs and another surge forward.**

"**You shanks shut up!" Alby yelled. "Tell 'em, Newt."**

"You're just as bossy" _Gally _raised an eyebrow daringly at the dark skinned boy.

"He's like that in our world to so we're used to it" Newt chuckled lightly at his friend who once again rolled his eyes, though this time half-heartedly.

**Newt looked down in the Box one more time, then faced the crowd, gravely.**

"**It's a girl," he said.**

"TERESA" Minho shouted causing everyone to jump.

"Shut up you idiot" Janson hissed causing everyone to chuckle, the man had jumped out of his skin and it was a funny sight to watch.

**Everyone started talking at once; Thomas only caught pieces here and there.**

_Thomas _smirked, "ready for the guessing who says what game?"

The students laughed and _Thomas _passed it to his counterpart to start, knowing he didn't have a line.

Thomas smiled and chucked the book to Gally.

"**A girl?"**

Gally smiled, something happened similar to him in his own world. That's how Thomas knew that was him. He looked at the next line and laughed and passed to Minho.

"**I got dibs!"**

Minho barked with laughter as Teresa blushed cherry red.

Minho frowned at the next line and looked between the occupants around him. "I think this Winston because he is really superficial when it comes to girls."

"**What's she look like?"**

All the students nodded "He's always been like that, it's really awful. Especially when he started that blog about Beth." Brenda shook her head.

"I know Beth is a bitch but it was bad what he put. He's a great guy but he needs to change his ways when it comes to girls otherwise he will never get one" Teresa agreed.

Minho nodded and looked at the next line and passed straight to Chuck.

"**How old is she?"**

"You're too young to be thinking about girls yet mate" _Minho _laughed bringing _Chuck _into a one armed hug.

The younger boy was blushing madly as he passed the book back to _Thomas._

_Alby _once again nodded impressed "four out of four, I thought Winston was going to throw you off there."

"Naaaa we know our 'glade' friends too well" Thomas smirked.

**Thomas was drowning in a sea of confusion. **

"That's pretty ironic considering you got kicked off the swimming team for falling into the pool drunk one night, almost drowning" Janson put a hand to his chin looking at a blushing Thomas.

"I was confused" Thomas shrugged with a grin.

_Thomas _looked at his counterpart and laughed, apart from the Newts and Brenda's. He was very much like his counterpart. Serious when he has to be and laid back when he can.

**A girl? He hadn't even thought about why the Glade only had boys, no girls.**

"Would have been my first thought" Minho whispered to himself earning himself two disapproving looks by both Janson's.

**Hadn't even had the chance to notice, really. Who is she? he wondered. Why—**

"Oh the questions" Newt giggled.

**Newt shushed them again. "That's not bloody half of it," he said, then pointed down into the Box. "I think she's dead."**

At this point all the students laughed and looked at a grinning Teresa.

"Let me guess, another back story" _Chuck _said excited.

"Halloween last year, Teresa managed to scare the shit out of every single one of us." Thomas laughed.

"What did you do?" _Minho _laughed.

"I faked my own death. Put a load of 'blood' on the floor around me and did my make up to make it look like someone slit my throat. Did this in the on suite. When Brenda and Newt knocked on the door to try and get me to the party and came in, you should have heard their screams. In came everyone else and made it even funnier" Teresa laughed at the mock glares she was getting.

"I actually thought you were dead for a second" Thomas whispered, "you scared the absolute shit out of me."

Teresa just smiled at him and gave him a flirtatious wink.

"Sounds definitely something I would do" _Teresa _agreed with a grin.

**A couple of boys grabbed some ropes made from ivy vines and lowered Alby and Newt into the Box so they could retrieve the girl's body. A mood of reserved shock**

"It was definitely the weirdest thing that had happened to that date" _Newt _defended his gladers. Though he knew that things just only got weirder from that point onwards.

**had come over most of the Gladers, who were milling about with solemn faces, kicking loose rocks and not saying much at all. No one dared admit they couldn't wait to see the girl,**

Brenda grinned and joked "perverts."

"Nope that's just Minho" _Aris _said pointing to the Asian boy from the student world who smirked.

"I may be a bit of a man whore, but I do respect women."

"How do you know who the right one is for you?" _Brenda _asked curiously. The boy didn't seem to settle down.

Minho thought for a second then smiled "I don't but this is going to sound cheesy but I sort of believe in the thought of soul mates after I heard this quote '_According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves… and when one of them meets the other half, the actual half of himself, whether he be a lover of youth or a lover of another sort, the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy and one will not be out of the other's sight, as I may say, even for a moment..._'"

Newt smiled slightly, though incredibly corny, the quote was beautiful. He had heard it before and loved it then as much as he did now.

"That has to be the corniest thing I have ever heard" _Gally _burst out into laughter making the Asian boy blush.

"It's corny and cute at the same time" Brenda defended her friend.

"Where is it from?" _Janson _questioned, he had never heard that quote before.

"Plato, the symposium"

"Must have been something that died with the sun flares" _Brenda _said.

**but Thomas assumed they were all just as curious as he was.**

**Gally was one of the boys holding on to the ropes, ready to hoist her, Alby, and Newt out of the Box. Thomas watched him closely. His eyes were laced with something dark—almost a sick fascination.**

_Teresa _paled for a second, sending a look of disgust towards _Gally._

**A gleam that made Thomas suddenly more scared of him than he'd been minutes earlier.**

_Gally _snorted in pride, sending a dirty look towards both Thomas'.

**From deep in the shaft came Alby's voice shouting that they were ready, and Gally and a couple of others started pulling up on the rope. A few grunts later and the girl's lifeless body was dragged out, **

Teresa shivered, she had only acted dead. Proper dramatized. This looked like she was actually dead. A thought which brought her already pale face to pale even further.

**across the edge of the door and onto one of the stone blocks making up the ground of the Glade. Everyone immediately ran forward, forming a packed crowd around her, a palpable excitement hovering in the air.**

"All you guys are actually perverts, you're getting excited over a girl… Who is dead!" Brenda stressed the last word. "I'm pretty sure that could go under necrophilia."

Minho who was taking a huge gulp of water promptly spat it out and started coughing.

All the student boys looked at her gobsmacked as Teresa was trying to conceal her laughter at the boys reaction.

_Newt _frowned confused "What the shuck is necrophilia?"

"Sexual intercourse with or attraction towards corpses" Thomas supplied disgusted.

"Ewwww" all the gladers said in unison looking at a now blushing Brenda.

"I don't even want to know why that is actually a thing. Sex with someone who is dead" _Minho _shivered.

"Wait until you guys find out what bestiality is, you will be even more disgusted with our world" Newt shook his head.

**But Thomas stayed back. The eerie silence gave him the creeps, as if they'd just opened up a recently laid tomb.**

"In a way it was like that" Aris shrugged.

**Despite his own curiosity, Thomas didn't bother trying to force his way through to get a look—the bodies were too tightly squeezed together.**

"Sounds like how it is at a soccer match" Alby whispered to himself only Newt over hearing who whispered back a smug.

"Football."

Alby turned to look at Newt who was smiling at him and the other boy couldn't bring it in himself to say anything back at him.

**But he had caught a glimpse of her before being blocked off. She was thin, but not too small. Maybe five and a half feet tall,**

"Hobbit" Newt coughed winking at Teresa who childishly stuck her tongue out. Compared to him she was absolutely tiny.

**from what he could tell. She looked like she could be fifteen or sixteen years old,**

Teresa chuckled "I'm actually 17."

"I have never understood the system in Glade High" Minho rolled his eyes.

All the gladers looked confused. "What do you mean?" _Aris _raised one of his eyebrows.

"In normal schools you are allocated the year you are in depending on your age" Janson began to explain. "At Glade high we go off brain waves, all students will start off in first year. We like to see how quickly a student can progress into 10th year… We yet to have one."

All the gladers gave him a suspicious look "What happens when they reach the 10th year?" _Minho's _eyes were dark with distrust.

Janson glared at the Asian boy down his long nose. "That is none of your concern."

"How do you know when someone is ready to go into the next year?" _Jorge _asked suspiciously.

"We have set values of Hertz. We are more looking on time. For example, Mr Wagner has been at glade high for 5 years and has progressed to 6th year giving him a percentage rate of 0.33%. Whereas Mr Hunter has been going to Glade High for a year and has progressed to 5th year giving himself a higher rate of 1.37%." Janson continued to explain.

Thomas felt sick; his teachers were always telling them how his brain waves are extraordinary. In two weeks he was set to move up to being a 6th year.

_Thomas _looked between the Janson's a crease entering between his brow. He didn't like them, not one little bit.

**and her hair was tar black.**

"That isn't a very nice comparison" Teresa wrinkled her nose.

**But the thing that had really stood out to him was her skin: pale, white as pearls.**

"That's more what I'm talking about" _Teresa _smirked winking at Thomas.

**Newt and Alby scrambled out of the Box after her, then forced their way through to the girl's lifeless body, the crowd re-forming behind to cut them off from Thomas's view. Only a few seconds later, the group parted again, and Newt was pointing straight at Thomas.**

"You blamed me too" Thomas felt betrayed looking at _Newt._

"I was doing what I thought was right" the boy shrugged.

"**Greenie, get over here," he said, not bothering to be polite about it.**

"Jesus Christ, what the shuck is happening?" Minho said wide eyed. First _Alby _is scared now _Newt _is being rude. It was just so unlike their student selves.

**Thomas's heart jumped into his throat; his hands started to sweat. What did they want him for? Things just kept getting worse and worse.**

"Don't worry no one has a good first few days in the glade, yours was just extremely bad" _Chuck _chuckled slightly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

**He forced himself to walk forward, trying to seem innocent without acting like someone who was guilty who was trying to act innocent.**

"You look way too into things" Brenda snorted.

**Oh, calm it, he told himself. You haven't done anything wrong. But he had a strange feeling that maybe he had without realizing it.**

_Alby _sent _Thomas _a knowing look and the latter stared at the book guiltily. He knew he had done wrong before the maze.

**The boys lining the path to Newt and the girl glared at him as he walked past, as if he were responsible for the entire mess of the Maze and the Glade and the Grievers.**

_Janson _smirked knowing, in a way he was. But it wasn't a mess… it was to save the world that this has to be done.

**Thomas refused to make eye contact with any of them, afraid of looking guilty.**

"You're so cute sometimes" Teresa gushed.

Even though she was joking, Thomas still flushed bright red. He needed to work on his confidence; he couldn't keep blushing at everything she says to him.

**He approached Newt and Alby, who both knelt beside the girl. Thomas, not wanting to meet their stares, concentrated on the girl; despite her paleness, she was really pretty.**

Brenda felt her insides tear, though she didn't show it on the outside. She didn't show emotion like that, but it didn't help with all the cheers that got erupted from all the boys and the two blushing Thomas'. Maybe Teresa was right for Thomas, and she wasn't. She would just have to carry that burden forever, no matter how much it hurts.

Whereas Teresa was feeling on top of the world. Even though it didn't actually say he liked her, it was still a step closer for them getting together.

**More than pretty. Beautiful. **

Both Thomas' groaned as another wave of cheers and chants erupted from both his student and glade version of his friends. Even worse their own Teresa's were staring them down as though they were meat.

**Silky hair, flawless skin, perfect lips,**

_Minho _did kissy lips at Thomas who gave him a shake of his head and a look of disgust.

**long legs. It made him sick to think that way about a dead girl,**

Thomas sent Brenda a look to say don't even think about it, but found that the girl was staring at nothing. Her eyes were especially nowhere near his direction. He would have to talk to her about that later.

**but he couldn't look away. Won't be that way for long, he thought with a queasy twist in his stomach. She'll start rotting soon.**

Everyone wrinkled their noses in disgust "That's a horrible thing to think" Jorge admonished.

**He was surprised at having such a morbid thought.**

"**You know this girl, shank?" Alby asked, sounding ticked off.**

"Don't beat around the bush do you."

**Thomas was shocked by the question. "Know her? Of course I don't know her. I don't know anyone. Except for you guys."**

"Sometimes I wish I knew less of you" _Thomas _interrupted himself glaring at _Gally _who sent a seething look back.

"**That's not …," Alby began, then stopped with a frustrated sigh. "I meant does she look familiar at all? Any kind of feelin' you've seen her before?"**

"No offence but do you think I would have actually trusted you considering how you treated me" Thomas raised an eyebrow at _Alby._

"As the glade leader I needed you to tell me the truth" he bit back.

"**No. Nothing." Thomas shifted, looked down at his feet, then back at the girl.**

**Alby's forehead creased. "You're sure?" He looked like he didn't believe a word Thomas said, seemed almost angry.**

"He's a natural hot head, it's _Newt _you need to watch out for if he looks angry" _Chuck _whispered pointing at _Newt._

**What could he possibly think I have to do with this? Thomas thought. He met Alby's glare evenly**

"Dangerous" Minho was on the edge of his seat looking between _Thomas _and _Alby_.

**and answered the only way he knew how. "Yes. Why?"**

"That cheek" Minho sniggered.

Thomas rolled his eyes in mock annoyance "Minho shut up."

"**Shuck it," Alby muttered, looking back down at the girl. "Can't be a coincidence. Two days, two Greenies, one alive, one dead."**

"Could be" Thomas tried to defend himself earning a disbelieving look from all the gladers.

**Then Alby's words started to make sense and panic flared in Thomas.**

Thomas' eyes widened and he choked.

Most people jumped thinking he was going to go in asthma attack mode again.

"I'm not a feckin murderer" he screamed earning laughter from the gladers and confused looks from the students.

"**You don't think I …" He couldn't even finish the sentence.**

"**Slim it, Greenie," Newt said. "We're not sayin' you bloody killed the girl."**

"Ooooooohhhhhh" Teresa began to chuckle wildly in merriment. Thomas would be the world's most unsubtle murderer if he was to ever become one.

**Thomas's mind was spinning. He was sure he'd never seen her before—but then the slightest hint of doubt crept into his mind. **

Teresa and Thomas frowned giving their counterparts a wary look. They just shook their heads and _Thomas _nodded towards the book in his hand.

"**I swear she doesn't look familiar at all," he said anyway. He'd had enough accusations.**

"**Are you—"**

Thomas rolled his eyes.

**Before Newt could finish, the girl shot up into a sitting position.**

All the students' jaws dropped in shock and stared at _Teresa._

**As she sucked in a huge breath, her eyes snapped open and she blinked, looking around at the crowd surrounding her. Alby cried out and fell backward.**

If the situation wasn't so serious Minho would have laughed, they obviously all knew that _Teresa _was alive but he didn't think it would be as intense as this.

**Newt gasped and jumped up, stumbling away from her. Thomas didn't move, his gaze locked on the girl, frozen in fear.**

"Scared of me?" _Teresa _asked innocently, a look of shock on her devious face.

**Burning blue eyes darted back and forth as she took deep breaths. Her pink lips trembled as she mumbled something over and over, indecipherable. Then she spoke one sentence—her voice hollow and haunted, but clear.**

"This is like a bloody horror film" Newt quivered.

"**Everything is going to change."**

The students looked around the Glade in concern.

**Thomas stared in wonder as her eyes rolled up into her head and she fell back to the ground. Her right fist shot into the air as she landed, staying rigid after she grew still,**

Teresa's pale skin went a shade of green, she didn't like the sound of this voodoo crap being done on her.

**pointing toward the sky. Clutched in her hand was a wadded piece of paper.**

**Thomas tried to swallow but his mouth was too dry. Newt ran forward and pulled her fingers apart, grabbing the paper.**

Newt started to bite his nails before Alby slapped his hand and gave him a disapproving look.

**With shaking hands he unfolded it, then dropped to his knees, spreading out the note on the ground. Thomas moved up behind him to get a look.**

Cue intake of hesitant breaths.

**Scrawled across the paper in thick black letters were five words:**

**She's the last one.**

**Ever.**

All the students jaws were permanently fished now, only bobbing open and close every once in a while.

"That surely can't be the end of the chapter" Jorge spoke as _Thomas _book marked the page.

"Actually it is" _Thomas _replied looking at the book, he couldn't wait to get further into the book to read what he doesn't already know.

"Who would like to read next?"

Teresa raised her hand taking the book from _Thomas _making sure that her skin lingers on his skin a fraction longer than what would be classed as normal. Taking her seat again she opened the book **"Chapter 9"**

* * *

_**OKAY MUST READ PEOPLE! (It is actually pretty important this time guys)**_

_**1) This happened a lot earlier than I initially was going to do it but I did research on how to help someone who is having an asthma attack and not having their inhaler near, that is what I found so blame google if this information is wrong**_

_**2) That quote in there is one of my top three quotes of all time (I know they are two separate quotes but I always class them together) it is just amazing**_

_**3) TO SHOW YOU THAT I AM NOT DEAD I HAVE MADE A XXBRITISHBOOKWORMXX TWITTER ACCOUNT CALLED Brit_Bookworm ... Please follow and to show that you are a follower on here and not just some random person and you want me to follow you back please tweet/pm me saying follower or something... If you don't want me to follow back then that's fine just leave it as just following me. I'm not going to follow back unless you do the tweet/pm thing. Will be a bit like a fandom account but not at the same time if that makes sense**_

_**4) Here are the fact files for the students (After doing some research into their age and stuff which I thought I knew but apparently not.**_

_**Name - Year - How long been at Glade High - Age**_

Thomas Hunter – 5th year – 1 Year – 16

Minho Far – 7th Year – 8 years – 17

Newt Rodgers – 6th Year – 8 Years - 16

Chuck Harries – 1st year – 1 ½ years – 12

Teresa Agnes – 4th year – 11 months - 17

Aris Jones – 4th Year – 9 months - 19

Brenda Burke – 5th Year - 3 years - 18

Alby Jackson - 7th Year – 8 Years - 17

Gally Wagner – 6th Year – 5 Years - 16

_**This is what I am sticking by in future chapters, have made a word document of this information so I don't forget it. If I have gone against this in previous chapters please tell me because I really want to make amends to it!**_

_**5) Don't forget to do the Poll! Pretty much nearing the end before I do that chapter!**_

PLEASE REVIEW!


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